Why Do They Come? Understanding Youth Participation in a Library-based Maker Program

• In Event: Scaling Out, Up, and Deep: Mobile Making Afterschool Program across Four California State University Campuses

Abstract

For this project, the mobile making experiences were conducted at a library in a Los Angeles suburb. STEM Tinkering Club (STC) sessions were held on Saturday mornings during the school year and weekday mornings during the summer, available to all children grades 3 through 8. Initial observations of the program indicated that less than 15% of participants were girls, leading us to question 1) what motivated these girls to participate in the STC sessions and 2) what motivated caregivers to bring their child to these sessions. Understanding the interplay of motivation, interest and expectation that lead to girls’ participation in these sessions may provide insights on low participation rates and clarify community contexts. Because youth choices are often influenced by their caregivers, understanding caregiver rationale and expectations for the experiences would also inform our understanding of youth participation in such community-based STEM programs.

Despite the large number of people visiting STEM-related informal institutions, research also points to a gender disparity in engagement, with girls less likely to participate in informal STEM experiences compared to boys (McCreedy & Dierking, 2013.) The Female Response Design Framework (Dancstep & Sindorf, 2018) identified four design attributes: enable social interaction and collaboration, create a low-pressure setting, provide meaningful connections, and represent females and their interests, that were found to encourage more girls to participate in these STEM learning experiences without influencing participation of boys. Although the STC seeks to provide a positive experience for ALL youth participants, we were curious as to whether the FRD might offer insights regarding girls’ interests in attending (or returning) to these sessions.

In addition to the FRD framework, the study is informed by Hidi and Reninger’s (2006) four phase-model of interest development that details the progression of interest, and its potential to support and sustain engagement in meaningful learning.

Caregivers and female participants were selected from those attending one of the STC sessions. Both were asked to participate in separate interviews that lasted from 10 to 30 minutes. Qualitative analysis of transcripts involved both top down (using the FRD framework) and bottom up (examining recurring concepts and themes that emerged from the data) approaches. Findings suggest that motivation to attend (and return) were consistent with several aspects of the FRD framework, including social interactions and a low-pressure setting. Although STC attendance was often introduced by the parent, these girls were willing participants. Caregiver responses provided additional context for youth comments and indicated that their motivations were informed by several factors: a search for meaningful out-of-school learning experiences, a desire to foster their child’s interest and experiences within STEM, and opportunities for youth to develop higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.

This work adds to a growing understanding of youth maker experiences, providing an additional window into how those experiences are perceived by both female participants and the adults who encourage their participation. This exploratory study is part of a larger effort to better understand how these youth making experiences are positioned within a larger incidental or self-identified STEM ecosystem.

Authors

• Zulema Morales, Aquarium of the Pacific

• James F. Kisiel, California State University - Long Beach