A coding lab to increase science capital of school dropout teenagers

Abstract

We explored the potential of science to facilitate social inclusion with teenagers who had interrupted their studies before the terms set for compulsory education. The project was carried out from 2014 to 2018 within SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies), a scientific and higher education institution in physics, mathematics and neurosciences, and was focused on the production of video games using Scratch. The outcomes are encouraging: through active engagement, the participants have succeeded in completing complex projects, taking responsibilities and interacting with people outside their usual entourage, within a background in which they have been valued and respected.

Science Capital: Results from a Finnish Population Survey

“…These findings (Archer et al, 2015;DeWitt et al, 2016;Jones et al, 2021) show that in youth, science capital is composed of a complex mixture of attitudes and perceptions of science and its utility (Mujtaba et al, 2018), self-efficacy in science (Archer et al, 2010;Turnbull et al, 2020), support and expectations of family members (Archer et al, 2012;Mujtaba et al, 2018), how teachers and school lessons inspire and encourage the students to engage in science (Archer et al, 2017;Turnbull et al, 2020), and how much informal science activities students can or want to participate in (Cerrato et al, 2018;Mujtaba et al, 2018).…”

“…As for informal and voluntary science activities, their role might be different in adulthood than in childhood. During school years, voluntary science activities increase pupils' science self-efficacy and can increase overall science capital (Cerrato et al, 2018;DeWitt et al, 2016). In adulthood, after-school science clubs or summer camps are replaced by other types of activities, like visiting science museums or participating in citizen science projects, which may build up positive attitudes towards science and understanding of the scientific method (Jones et al, 2017).…”