The present study investigated outreach activities, developed by STEM-based companies or universities in co-creation with secondary education with the aim to inform students about and motivate them for a career in STEM by connecting the workcontext with school-science. Although many of such activities are being offered, little is known about their effects. We investigated students' perceptions with the outreach learning environment, perceived need-fulfilment, self-reported motivation and attitudes towards STEM. Data were gathered from 729 high-school students engaged in 12 activities in the USA and the Netherlands. The students completed a questionnaire, which contained questions about four elements of our theoretical frame based on the Self-Determination-Theory (SDT). Perceived needs-fulfilment and motivation were measured using the basic-psychological-needsscale and the self-regulation-questionnaire. Attitudes were measured using the test-of-science-related-attitudes. Learning environment perceptions were measured in a previous study using subscales of what-is-happing-in-this-classroom (WIHIC), constructivist-learning-environments-scale (CLES) and classroomenvironment-scale (CES) and typified by activity characteristics. Multilevel analyses of variance were conducted for the two motivation scales (controlled and autonomous-motivation) and the two attitude scales (social-implication and career-interest). Activity characteristics explained almost all variance in these variables between activities. Specific characteristics of outreach activities that statistically significantly related to autonomous motivation and positive general attitudes towards STEM were: workshop-format, understanding science, an out-of-school component. The attitude towards a possible STEM-career was positively associated with autonomous-motivation and negatively associated with controlled-motivation. Thus, outreach learning environments indeed created opportunities to increase students' motivation in STEM and attitude towards STEM, but the impact varied according to particular characteristics of the activities. ARTICLE HISTORY

We investigated and compared the learning environment perceptions of students, teachers and guides who participated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based outreach activities in secondary education. In outreach activities, schools and teachers work together with companies and other external institutions in learning activities in order to motivate students for the STEM domain. In this study, we identified characteristics of outreach activities that explain variance in perceptions of students. Data were gathered from 729 high-school students as well as 35 teachers and guides in 12 activities both in the US and the Netherlands. A questionnaire was used to asses outreach activities based on subscales from validated questionnaires such as the What Is Happening In this Classroom, Constructivist Learning Environments Survey, Classroom Environment Scale and the Learning Climate Questionnaire. Teachers' perceptions were more positive than students' perceptions for most scales, while guides perceived the outreach learning environment in almost the same way as students. Student perceptions were very positive for outreach activities. Outreach activity characteristics such as teaching method and emphasis were found to be the most important factors in explaining variance in students' perceptions between activities. Long-term problem-based activities and the perspective of new views of science and scientists were perceived as providing the most positive learning environments. Additionally, outreach learning environments can create opportunities to increase students' motivation in STEM.

This study focused on K–12 students attending outreach activities (i.e. activities from STEM-based industry emphasizing applications of STEM content in the STEM field), with the main objective being to motivate students for a future career in STEM. Outreach activities can be regarded as environments that extend the regular in-class learning environment and that differ from regular environments in terms of several dimensions, such as autonomy, relevance and learning resources. To date, little research has been conducted on these types of learning environments. We followed a person-centred approach in identifying students’ motivational profiles and corresponding student groups in outreach activities, and in evaluating whether students with different profiles differ in their STEM-related attitudes and experience of outreach activities. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Latent-profile analyses revealed four different motivational profiles: good-quality motivation, moderate-motivation, high-quantity motivation and low-quantity motivation. Students with a good-quality motivation reported significantly more favorable-attitudes towards a future career in STEM compared with the other groups, with content and personal relevance being key factors for students with this profile. This study provided support for adding outreach activities to the school learning environment.

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This explorative study investigated guide’s behavior and actions who had an active role in STEM-based (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outreach activities in secondary education. In outreach activities, schools and teachers work together with companies and other external institutions in learning activities to motivate students for the STEM domain. In these outreach activities, guides “taught” from a teacher\'s perspective and at the same time “were a role model” from an ambassador perspective. To observe guides behavior in two different activities, an observation instrument was constructed using both perspectives by conceptualizing a need-supportive behavior with a focus on effective and metacognitive outcomes for students, based on the self-determination theory. In this chapter, our findings and instrument will be described.