A Longitudinal Study of a Museum-Based Out-of-School Time STEM Program for Youths

• In Event: Revisiting the "Pipeline" in STEM Pathways Research: Alternatives That Reflect Systemic, Cultural, and Contextual Features

Abstract

Objectives
The [name masked] Project is a quasi-experimental, mixed-method longitudinal study following graduates of the [name masked] program at [masked] museum of science. The [masked] program focuses on high school youths from historically underserved communities and aims to prepare them for college. Using an annual survey and in-depth interviews, the project follows participants through their college and professional careers. With data collection in its 8th year, we have been able to track their relationship with STEM, follow their experiences going from more diverse communities like the [masked] program to less diverse institutions like their universities or STEM majors, and learn whether/how they ultimately ended up in a STEM career.

Perspective
Some researchers have pointed out the need for in-depth, long-term, and intersectional research to understanding the complexities of science identity within contexts of inequality especially for those most underserved in STEM (Calabrese Barton, et al. 2013; Avraamidou, 2020; Rahm et al. 2021). Our objective for this project was to fill that need and to center participants’ unique and legitimate experiences by exploring the rich context around their pathways in and out of STEM. Our work is informed by research in positive youth development and intersectionality, such as Calabrese Barton and Tan (2010)’s work around youth agency in out-of-school time spaces and Winkle-Wagner et al. (2019)’s work analyzing critical life stories of Black alumnae from predominantly white colleges and universities.

Data Sources and Method
As of 2023, we will have 8 years of data for cohort one, 7 years for cohort two, and 6 years for cohort three. Each cohort includes our treatment group (n=64), the [masked program] graduates, and a control group (n=165) of youths recruited from the Museum floor. Both groups have similar demographic backgrounds (including parents who work in STEM fields).
Our most recent interviews were conducted in 2021. We interviewed 22 alumni and performed follow-up interviews with 15 of those participants. Each unstructured interview lasted 35 to 60 minutes. This two-interview process helped to establish rapport, allowed participants to speak in depth on their experiences, and allowed researchers to reflect between interviews.

Results
Early results have shown the program was associated with eliminating the gender gap in STEM career interest in high school youth (Authors, et al. 2018), a decrease in the college drop-out rate (Author, 2021) and youth seeing the program as a supportive community context (Authors, et al., 2021). Preliminary survey results from 2021 suggest that among those who graduated from college, our treatment group joined a STEM career at a rate 39% higher than the control group. Preliminary analysis of our interviews suggests that participants’ intersectional identities were integral to their experiences grappling with belongingness and fulfillment within STEM.

Significance
Complicating the concept of the leaky pipeline, our project considers that while strong science identity, participation in STEM programs, and access to diverse or co-ethnic STEM communities may be important for ensuring youths stay on STEM pathways, they may not be enough to ensure youths persistently thrive within those pathways.

Author

• Cindy La Nguyen, Museum of Science and Industry - Chicago
  Presenting Author