Gender Differences with Regards to Interest in STEM (Evaluation)

Tristan Robert Straight; Jennah Meyer; Murad Musa Mahmoud; Cristian Gerardo Allen; Kurt Henry Becker

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: Milhouse's Moment: Engineering Inclusivity, Everything's Coming Up Milhouse!
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 22
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--47489
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47489
Download Count: 60

Murad is an Assistant Professor at the Engineering Science Department at Wartburg College. He has a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Utah State University. Research interests include recruitment into STEM, diversity in STEM as well pedagogy.

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Cristian Gerardo Allen Wartburg College

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Cristian graduated in 2017 from the University of North Texas with a Ph.D. in Mathematics under Dr. Su Gao. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Wartburg College. Research interests include data analysis methods, artificial intelligence and machine learning, point-set topology, and the consequences of the axiom of choice and the axiom of determinacy.

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Kurt Henry Becker Utah State University

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Kurt Becker is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Utah State University. His research includes engineering design thinking, systems engineering, engineering education professional development, technical training, and adult learning cognition. He is currently working on a USAID funded project in Egypt, “Center of Excellence in Water”, and Department of Education funded GEARUP projects in the area of STEM education related to engineering education. He has extensive international experience working on technical training and engineering projects funded by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Countries where he has worked include Armenia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, and Thailand. In addition, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in engineering education for the department.

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Abstract

Gender Differences with Regards to Interest in STEM (Evaluation)

This paper will discuss the factors that influence the levels of interest in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) among high school and middle school students. Data for this research was collected during five summer engineering camps held at a local university as a part of the Department of Education’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEARUP) program. The camps were intended to help increase interest in STEM careers and STEM postsecondary education among high and middle school students. The weeklong summer camps were held in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Two years were skipped due to the COVID pandemic.

During the camps, the students participated in activities involving engineering research. The camps focused on a wide variety of topics including water and environmental engineering, rocket design, air quality, and electrical engineering.

Before and after each camp, the students completed surveys regarding their interest in STEM, the factors influencing that interest, and their friends’ and parents’ perceptions about STEM. Additionally, parents of the students were surveyed regarding their socioeconomic status, education, and perception of STEM.

Data from the 2017 and 2018 camps were analyzed in a previous paper by the same authors to find the most influential factors pertaining to the interest of male and female students in the STEM fields. In this proposed work, those sets of data will be analyzed again in conjunction with new data collected in the latest three camps (total n~130). Data is collected and analyzed as part of a longitudinal study. The analysis involves both quantitative and qualitative data which was collected simultaneously in a concurrent mixed methods research design. Both streams of data will be analyzed concurrently to offer a deeper understanding of what influences student interest in STEM.

Preliminary analysis showed that the factors that influence student interest in STEM were under the following main themes: Relationships/People, Future Prospects, Prior Interests/Hobbies, and Educational Experiences. A complete analysis of those themes, as well as the quantitative data, will be presented in this final paper.

We have the hypothesis that males who enter the camp, regardless of interest level, tend to maintain that interest level no matter whether the camp was a good experience or not, whereas females who enter the camp (in engineering; a male-dominated field [population-wise]) may have a more varied response (whether more positively or negatively affected) after the camp. We will look for indications that females felt more interested and more comfortable after attendance of the camp, but the opposite will be looked for as well. A qualitative search will look for clues of high-variance outcomes statistically as well as qualitatively with phrases such as “changed my opinion”, or “I quit!”, or even the words “female” or “male”, to see what comments there are about gender.

Citation
Format

Straight, T. R., & Meyer, J., & Mahmoud, M. M., & Allen, C. G., & Becker, K. H. (2024, June), Gender Differences with Regards to Interest in STEM (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--47489

TY - CPAPER
AB - Gender Differences with Regards to Interest in STEM (Evaluation)

This paper will discuss the factors that influence the levels of interest in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) among high school and middle school students. Data for this research was collected during five summer engineering camps held at a local university as a part of the Department of Education’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEARUP) program. The camps were intended to help increase interest in STEM careers and STEM postsecondary education among high and middle school students. The weeklong summer camps were held in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Two years were skipped due to the COVID pandemic.

During the camps, the students participated in activities involving engineering research. The camps focused on a wide variety of topics including water and environmental engineering, rocket design, air quality, and electrical engineering.

Before and after each camp, the students completed surveys regarding their interest in STEM, the factors influencing that interest, and their friends’ and parents’ perceptions about STEM. Additionally, parents of the students were surveyed regarding their socioeconomic status, education, and perception of STEM.

Data from the 2017 and 2018 camps were analyzed in a previous paper by the same authors to find the most influential factors pertaining to the interest of male and female students in the STEM fields. In this proposed work, those sets of data will be analyzed again in conjunction with new data collected in the latest three camps (total n~130). Data is collected and analyzed as part of a longitudinal study. The analysis involves both quantitative and qualitative data which was collected simultaneously in a concurrent mixed methods research design. Both streams of data will be analyzed concurrently to offer a deeper understanding of what influences student interest in STEM.

Preliminary analysis showed that the factors that influence student interest in STEM were under the following main themes: Relationships/People, Future Prospects, Prior Interests/Hobbies, and Educational Experiences. A complete analysis of those themes, as well as the quantitative data, will be presented in this final paper.

We have the hypothesis that males who enter the camp, regardless of interest level, tend to maintain that interest level no matter whether the camp was a good experience or not, whereas females who enter the camp (in engineering; a male-dominated field [population-wise]) may have a more varied response (whether more positively or negatively affected) after the camp. We will look for indications that females felt more interested and more comfortable after attendance of the camp, but the opposite will be looked for as well. A qualitative search will look for clues of high-variance outcomes statistically as well as qualitatively with phrases such as “changed my opinion”, or “I quit!”, or even the words “female” or “male”, to see what comments there are about gender.

AU - Tristan Robert Straight
AU - Jennah Meyer
AU - Murad Musa Mahmoud
AU - Cristian Gerardo Allen
AU - Kurt Henry Becker
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Gender Differences with Regards to Interest in STEM (Evaluation)
UR - https://peer.asee.org/47489
DO - 10.18260/1-2--47489
ER -