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Innovations in Examining Pathways of Youth Who Stay in Science

Sat, April 29, 10:35am to 12:05pm, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Floor: Meeting Room Level, Room 221 C

Abstract

This poster shares data and methodology from a study of the pathways of STEM-interested high school students from underrepresented groups who plan to pursue science studies beyond high school. The study focuses on approximately 900 high interest, high potential students participating in an intensive program that offers mentored science research experiences to high school students. The Science Research Mentoring Program which takes place at 17 sites around New York City, is designed to serve youth typically underrepresented in STEM careers. In order to understand the supports and barriers within pathways of students into STEM, the study focuses on the relationship between features of their mentored research ‘communities of practice’ and youths’ social networks. Our work also incorporates an examination of measures of ‘formal’ academic achievement from NYCDOE data. The study explores these features in relationship to data on youths’ post-high school career choices over a four-year period.

Our study uses three methods that may be especially fruitful in developing a rich, layered perspective of student pathways: social network analysis; analysis of a large public school data set; and the inclusion of youth as co-researchers. Our paper explores the affordances of these various data sources. For instance, social network analysis allows us to reveal relational features of persistence that may be particularly critical for underrepresented youth, for whom STEM role models and cultural brokers provide an otherwise unavailable sense of belonging and identity in STEM. Our access to the New York City Public Schools data set enables us to examine student-level records for our participants, which includes data on course enrollment and grades, exam scores, persistence/graduation indicators as well as demographics. This data provides for the examination of inter-relationships between in-school achievement and out-of-school STEM experiences, as well as the comparison of program participants to similar non-participant peers. Finally, we include youth as co-researchers. These youth help analyze de-identified data, validate themes, and analyze their own trajectories.

Our paper reports on findings from our pilot year developing and field testing instruments. Initial analysis of social network data, for instance, reveals that many youth found their way into the program through an adult (usually a parent or teacher), highlighting the importance of the role mentors and parents play in brokering experiences, even if they don’t provide the experience directly. Methodologically, we are learning that capturing the universe of influences over time is critical, because as kids level-up, their previous contacts (parents or high-school teachers) may not have the social or knowledge capital to keep suggesting new experiences, so creating these new networks over time are critical to sustained growth and development.

Throughout this study, we try to address concerns that research examining pursuit of STEM majors has otherwise struggled to address: the inter-relationship of multiple contexts and factors at play in youth development. Identifying new methods that can allow us to capture the complexity and variation in pathways will enable us to ensure that even more high-interest, under-represented youth continue to persist in STEM careers or equally challenging fields.

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