STEM Extracurricular Activities and Adolescents' STEM Performance, Motivational Beliefs, and Aspirations in High School

• In Event: Out-of-School Time as a Mechanism for Promoting School Engagement

Abstract

Extracurricular activities (ECA) can promote adolescents' STEM performance, motivation, and aspirations, but the self-selection and inequitable access to STEM ECA makes estimating its effects challenging. Using a nationally representative dataset (High School Longitudinal Study of 2009) and models that varied in analytical rigor, we found that although high school STEM ECA participation consistently predicted positive STEM outcomes, the magnitude of the relations differed substantially across models. In contrast with comparing STEM ECA participants to non-participants at face value, a quasi-experimental approach with robust covariates yielded results that shrunk the magnitude of the relations by half to one-third. Our findings highlight the importance of rigorously accounting for selection factors and equitable access to STEM ECA.

Authors

• Ta-yang Hsieh, Search Institute

• Perla Ramos Carranza, University of California - Irvine

• Mark Vincent B Yu, University of California, Irvine

• Sandra D. Simpkins, University of California - Irvine