STEM Career Awareness and Science Identity in High School Students

Aaron Pidek, Anna Ptasznik, Caleb Petersen, Emily Schreiner, Susan Nicholson-Dykstra, William Thielke, Danny Vais
Northglenn High School, Northglenn, CO

Problem

University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO

Methods

Our School

Nationally, there has been a stagnant rate of American students

entering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
careers. According to STEMConnector.org, the number of high school
graduates looking to pursue a STEM career in 2001 was 26%, and
currently remains at 26%. According to a 2011 survey by
Microsoft, nearly 78% of current STEM majors decided to study
STEM while in high school or earlier, indicating the importance of
engaging student interest in STEM at the high school level.

Research Treatment

Northglenn High School:

Urban, public high school
Inaugural year of STEM focus
Incoming students are combination of traditional, neighborhood students and
students who choiced-in(*) for the STEM program
All 9th grade students required to take algebra-based, College Preparatory Physics
Approximately 500 9th grade students participating in research study
35.2% Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL)
27%+ English Language Learners (ELLs)

As a STEM high school, one of our goals is to encourage students to

explore and enter these fields. Based on anecdotal evidence from
our science classrooms, we suspect that a majority of high school
students do not know the reality of STEM careershow they are
associated with their current science classes, what types of training
is required for each, and what specific careers actually entail.
How can we increase the number of students entering STEM careers?

White
36%

Research Question:

Native
American
1%

Gender of
Participants

Asian African
3% American
4%
Female
46%

Prefer
not to
answer
5%

Male
54%

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Hispanic
or Latino
51%

Initial Findings

Disagree
46%

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Will Pursue
Would Enjoy

68.6
56.8

52.2 53.9

Male

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Not Enjoy
Enjoy

White Hispanic Black

(n=126) (n=244) (n=17)

Female

Asian
(n=16)

Native
(n=2)

100
80
60
40
20
0

Percentage of Students (n=501)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Discrepancies in Student Responses Regarding

Life Science Careers
Identified intended career in life sciences
Indicated high likelihood of career in life science
Indicated an interest in Biology
Indicated an interest in Biomedical Sciences
Reported high likelihood of career in life science AND
indicated a specific career choice in life science*
Identified intended career in life science BUT indicated
LOW likelihood of choosing a career in life science**
Identified intended career in life sciences BUT indicated
LOW interest in biology**
Identified intended career in life sciences BUT indicated
LOW interest in biomedical sciences**

37.7%
30.1%
45.5%
44.9%
87.8%
39.2%
41.3%
34.4%

Discrepancies in Student Responses Regarding

Physical Science Careers
Identified intended career in physical sciences
Indicated high likelihood of career in physical science
Indicated an interest in physics
Indicated an interest in chemistry
Reported high likelihood of career in physical science AND
indicated a specific career choice in physical science *
Identified intended career in physical science BUT indicated
LOW likelihood of choosing a career in physical science **
Identified intended career in physical sciences BUT
indicated LOW interest in physics **
Identified intended career in physical sciences BUT
indicated LOW interest in chemistry **

* Percentage of students who identified a high likelihood of career in life science (n=192)
** Percentage of students who identified intended career in life science (n=189)

Other
(n=10)

Only 14% of students show a conflict between expected career choice and the
education/training necessary to attain that career.

19.1%
40.9%
24.6%

23.2%
53.1%
54.9%
40.2%
7.8%
12.2%

* Percentage of students who identified high likelihood of career in engineering (n=266)

** Percentage of students who identified intended career in engineering (n=116)

29.5%

Finding 4: Students Believe STEM Careers are

Important to Society

Evaluate sophistication of student understanding of STEM

careers and what they entail
Responses to the question, Which type of career best
describes what you plan to do for a living? were sorted
into categories corresponding to major STEM fields (life
sciences, physical sciences, engineering, math, technology,
non-STEM)

Student perspectives on barriers that prevent them from

entering STEM careers

Discrepancies in Student Responses Regarding

Engineering Careers
Identified intended career in engineering
Indicated high likelihood of career in engineering
Indicated an interest in engineering
Reported high likelihood of career in engineering AND
indicated a specific career choice in engineering *
Identified intended career in engineering BUT indicated
LOW likelihood of choosing a career in engineering **
Identified intended career in engineering BUT indicated
LOW interest in engineering **

Evaluate conflict between student career interest and

education/training necessary for specific STEM careers

Student motivation for pursuing or not pursuing STEM

careers

* Percentage of students who identified high likelihood of career in physical sciences (n=188)
** Percentage of students who identified intended career in physical science (n=61)

Finding 3: Students Demonstrate Accurate Perception

of Training Required for their Intended Career

12.2%
37.5%
46.9%
53.9%

Evaluate conflict between student career interest and

interest in science courses associated with specific STEM
fields (life science, physical science, math, engineering)

Student reflections for STEM career presentations

Finding 2: Students Exhibit Conflict Between Intended Career and Interest in Corresponding STEM Fields
Career Field for Intended Profession

Engage Students in
Solving Problem

Evaluate & compare student interest in and intent to

pursue STEM career (by gender, race, previous school)

Breakdown of STEM Career

Intent by Middle School

Breakdown of STEM Career Interest by Ethnicity

Percent of Students
(n=501)

Agree
54%

Breakdown of STEM Career

Interest by Gender

Percentage of Students
(n=501)

Disagree
39%

Percentage of Students who

Agree (n=501)

Agree
61%

"I will pursue a STEM career"

(n=501)

Students will write a

reflection after every
presentation
The reflection will include
interest level for the
career presented and
possible barriers to
entering STEM career

Student Surveys given prior to and after treatment

Finding 1: Differences in STEM Career Interest and Intent Exist Amongst Different Student Populations
"I would enjoy a STEM career"
(n=501)

Students will research

barriers preventing
students from pursuing
STEM careers, then develop
a plan for increasing STEM
career interest in teenagers
Students will present their
findings to an expert panel
of teachers and education
experts

Data Collection & Analysis

STEM Launch
Silver Hills
STEM Lab *
Northglenn
Thorton *
Shadow Ridge *
Ranum *
Century *
Shaw Heights *
Holstrom *
Other *

Will increased exposure to STEM careers increase student interest in

and awareness of STEM careers?

Reflection

Middle School Attended

by Participants
Percent of Participants

Ethnicity of Participants

Guiding Question:

Students will
research a STEM
career of their
choice
Students will
present their
findings to their
classmates

Stem Career
Research

Student Demographics:

February 2014

November 2013 January 2014

83% of respondents indicated they believe STEM careers and STEM fields
are important to society

Future Work
Continue analyzing pre- (and later, post-) treatment survey
data to evaluate STEM interest of gender groups within
ethnicities
Extend study to evaluate student perspectives across high
school (9th-12th grade)
Incorporate

additional career awareness treatments

guest speakers
career-focused practice problems
instructor testimonials of their career paths

Acknowledgments
We would like to Laurie Langdon, Valerie Otero & Ryan Grover
for their guidance with this research project. Many thanks to our
peers at Northglenn High School who have supported this work.
This research was funded by NSF DUE 1240073.