ERIC Number: EJ1408546
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: EISSN-1938-4211
STEM Summer Camp for Girls Positively Affects Self-Efficacy
E. Dale Broder; Kirsten J. Fetrow; Shannon M. Murphy; Jennifer L. Hoffman; Robin M. Tinghitella
American Biology Teacher, v85 n8 p432-439 2023
Women and racially and ethnically minoritized populations are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Out-of-school time programs like summer camps can provide positive science experiences that may increase self-efficacy and awareness of STEM opportunities. Such programs often use the same high-impact practices used in K-12 classrooms including relating concepts to real-world examples, engaging students as active participants in inquiry-driven projects, and facilitating learning in a cooperative context. They additionally provide opportunities for engaging in STEM without fear of failure, offer a community of mentors, and allow families to become more involved. We designed a summer camp for middle schoolers who identified as girls, low-income, and as a minoritized race or ethnicity. We describe the design of the camp as well as the results from a simple pre- and post-camp questionnaire that examined each camper's relationship to science, scientific self-efficacy, and interest in having a job in STEM. We found an increase in self-efficacy in camp participants, which is important because high scientific self-efficacy predicts student performance and persistence in STEM, especially for girls. We did not detect an increase in interest in pursuing a STEM job, likely because of already high values for this question on the pre-camp survey. We add to the growing body of work recognizing the potential of out-of-school time STEM programs to increase scientific self-efficacy for girls and racially minoritized students.
Descriptors: STEM Education, Camps, Summer Programs, Disproportionate Representation, Self Efficacy, Middle School Students, Low Income Students, Females, Minority Group Students, Ethnicity, Race, Scientific Attitudes, Student Attitudes, STEM Careers, Student Interests
University of California Press. 2000 Center Street Suite 303, Berkeley, CA 94704. Tel: 510-643-7154; Fax: 510-642-9917; e-mail: customerservice@ucpressjournals.com; Web site: http://www.ucpressjournals.com/journal.php?j=abt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS); National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Environmental Biology (DEB); National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado (Denver)
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1846520; 2030753; 2240950; 1816944; 2009996