Understanding Parental Perceptions That Shape Engagement in a Family STEM Program

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: STEM Education: Informal Learning Contexts, Parental Perceptions, and Student Outcomes (Table 15)

Abstract

The Take-home Family STEM Toolkit Program exposes children and their families to STEM sensemaking by using a collection of developmentally appropriate activities to complete together at home. This initiative seeks to build informal spaces that promote parent-child, family-school, and family-family collaboration in STEM. Through the lens of the Ecologies of Parental Engagement model, this mixed-methods study analyzes parental perceptions of STEM, perceptions of the use of social media for learning purposes, and their perceptions toward their future involvement in their children's STEM education. Moreover, this research examines the perceived affordances and barriers to STEM collaboration between parents, children, and the school with the STEM Toolkit Program.

Author

• Valentina Bongiovanni, University of North Florida
  Presenting Author