Collaborative Research: Identifying Features of Informal Engineering Programs that Foster Youths’ Engineering Identities

By the time they enter middle school, many youth have opted out of engineering pathways due to limited exposure to engineering fields and a lack of encouragement or support. This project will address this issue by developing and testing a promising model of informal engineering programming designed to foster engineering identities among youth aged 9-12. This model will iterate on the existing work of St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy, a longstanding program which has provided engineering experiences to youth from Houston. This project will offer a no-cost, 16-week after-school informal engineering program--which includes features such as hands-on engineering design projects, opportunities to interact with professional engineers and scientists, family engagement Saturday sessions, community partnerships, engineering fairs, and support from mentors who are first-generation college undergraduates in engineering--to hundreds of youth in Houston. Research will explore how aspects of this informal engineering environment supported the engineering identity development of the participating youth. The model of informal engineering programming, and associated pedagogical materials, will be shared widely via professional networks of informal educators and engineering educators. Ultimately, this project is likely to promote engineering pathways and careers by illustrating how familial support, social supports such as mentors and community involvement, and engineering experiences can encourage all youth to see themselves in engineering. The University of Houston and Drexel University will use mixed-method research to investigate whether and how a model of informal engineering programming fosters engineering identity among participating youth. To achieve this purpose, the research team will analyze the following types of data: video-recordings of youth as they participate in the 16-week program; transcriptions of focus groups with the youth; and a pre-and post-administration of the Engineering Identity Development Scale. A subset of youth participants will engage in Photovoice in which they photograph, caption, and discuss elements of their experiences related to the program. This data source, in addition to other youth artifacts and transcripts from focus groups, will be used to ascertain whether and how particular programmatic elements foster the development of engineering practices and habits of mind among participating youth. Finally, the research team will conduct focus groups with undergraduate mentors and family members. They will analyze transcripts from these focus groups, as well as observational data, to investigate how mentors and families implement practices that foster youths' engineering identities, and how engineering programs can be designed to better support family engagement. The empirical findings from these analyses will be disseminated widely via professional networks and publications. This project will result in a field-tested, empirically-based model of informal engineering programming that fosters engineering identity and encourages all youth to consider and pursue engineering pathways leading to engineering careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.