When I grow up: the relationship of <i>science learning activation</i> to STEM career preferences

Dorph, Rena; Bathgate, Meghan; Schunn, Christian D.; Cannady, Matthew A.

doi:10.1080/09500693.2017.1360532

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Although there is not a clear tendency, current data reflect gender disparities in career choices in the area of science (OECD, 2016; te Wang & Degol, 2013). Despite efforts to reduce these disparities, research finds that males have a higher affinity for science career options starting in middle school (Dorph, Bathgate, Schunn, & Cannady, 2018). The paucity of data in the early educational years and the impact that early science experiences can have in future choices make it necessary to perform studies to identify the origin of these observed differences.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although affective variables such as attitudes have received special attention according to the influence they exert in children's behavior, researchers have focused mainly on the study of academic science learning outcomes (Bidegain & Lukas, 2020; Crouch, Wisittanawat, Cai, & Renninger, 2018) and career or subject choice (Andre et al, 1999; Dorph et al, 2018; Tytler & Osborne, 2012). However, the early years contain a number of environments and opportunities where children can express their interests in science (Dierking et al, 2003).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Paños

Ruiz-Gallardo

2020

J Res Sci Teach

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Attitude toward science has been recognized as highly influential in students' engagement with science and future career choices. Science is important in our everyday lives as well, in a society demanding more scientific vocations and higher levels of scientific literacy. There is little research on how attitudes develop and evolve at early ages, which may be due to a lack of appropriate measurement tools. The objective of this study is to design and validate a tool to measure attitude toward informal science in 5 to 6‐year‐old children, who are not yet familiarized with “formal science.” Rather, these children are constantly interacting and learning about their surrounding world. These early experiences are important for future science engagement. The Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS) scale consists of eight pictures representing science learning activities in informal environments. Children's intentions of performing the activities shown in the LeTiS pictures are measured by comparing them with other leisure nonscientific activities. We also analyze parents' views on their children's leisure interests for comparison. The relationship among attitudes, intentions, and interests is also analyzed as part of this study involving 387 children and 188 parents. LeTiS is a pictographic scale, which is easy to interpret, with reliable psychometric properties, Oω = .88, and a unidimensional factorial structure. The results show that participants, aged 5–6, have a very positive attitude, with no gender‐based differences. Nevertheless, their intentions to perform the activities are less promising, as nonscientific activities are consistently the first choice. Although parents' views report considerable science interest in their children, there is a low correlation with attitudes and intentions. The findings may offer clues on the relationship between children's attitudes toward science and their actual behavior. The study may also contribute to planning science curriculum in the early educational years.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Paños

Ruiz-Gallardo

2020

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…STEM Career Affinity Survey Scale. This scale (Dorph, Bathgate, Schunn, & Cannady, 2018) measures the extent to which an individual is interested in a career in STEM across five items (science, math, engineering, programming computers, and designing technology; e.g., In the future, would you like to have a job related to science? 4 = YES!, 3 = yes, 2 = no, 1 = NO!).…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Service-Learning as a Lever to Support STEM Engagement for Underrepresented Youth

Collins

Totino

Hartry

et al. 2019

Journal of Experiential Education

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Background: Women and people of color are consistently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and careers. Though there are myriad factors underlying these gaps, one potential variable may be the extent to which these students feel connected to their STEM classroom experiences. Purpose: The present study investigated the potential of a service-learning experience to support STEM engagement for underrepresented youth. Methodology/Approach: Two cohorts of high school students participated in a summer program through which they built “solar suitcases” to provide electricity for communities in need. Observations and student surveys measured student engagement and changes in STEM attitudes, dispositions, and beliefs. Findings/Conclusions: Students were highly engaged in service-learning activities and demonstrated improved Science Fascination, Science Values, and STEM Career Affinity after participating in the program. Implications: Implications for the design and delivery of culturally relevant service-learning experiences are discussed.

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“…Robotics programs (e.g., FIRST ® ) are an effective and increasingly popular approach for developing the interest and skills of youth in STEM disciplines Cook 2013, 2017;Benitti 2012;Conti et al 2019Conti et al , 2017. We recently examined changes in STEM interest and engagement after participating in a 6-week LEGO ® robotics program, as measured with the STEM activation survey (Dorph et al 2017;Melchior et al 2005) (assessing STEM fascination, values, competency belief, and scientific sense-making) among youth with disabilities. Based on the results of this work, we determined that there are benefits to engaging children with disabilities in robotics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Gender Differences in Teacher–Student Interactions during an Adapted Robotics Program for Children with Disabilities

Kolne

Lindsay

2019

Social Sciences

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We compared the interactions between teachers and children with disabilities enrolled in an adapted robotics program to examine potential gender differences in these interactions. We coded video recordings from instructional sections of the HB FIRST® robotics program, an adapted robotics program developed through a partnership between a pediatric rehabilitation hospital and FIRST® Canada (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The program consists of 6-weekly, two-hour workshops. We coded videos from four separate single-gender workshops (two all-girls, and two all-boys) involving 22 children aged 6 to 8 years-old. Results revealed that boys and girls display different styles of engagement during the robotics, and teachers’ behaviour is functionally responsive to these differences. The differences in the interaction styles of boys and girls identified in this study may contribute to gender differences in students’ perceived STEM competence, and ultimately interest in pursuing STEM education and careers.

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When I grow up: the relationship of science learning activation to STEM career preferences

Cited by 36 publications

References 52 publications

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Service-Learning as a Lever to Support STEM Engagement for Underrepresented Youth

Exploring Gender Differences in Teacher–Student Interactions during an Adapted Robotics Program for Children with Disabilities

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