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Title
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Plugging the gaps in the STEM pipeline: A reproducible, scalable model that supports middle school and undergraduate females studying
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Author
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Akin, V., Santillan, S. T., & Valentino (2024)
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Year Published
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2024
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Description
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Developing new and innovative ways to support girls in STEM is high on the agenda of girls’ schools globally. Researchers from Duke University have developed a reproducible model that targets two key periods when girls are more likely to leave STEM studies – middle school and tertiary undergraduate studies. They do this by focussing on helping girls develop their own STEM identity. This is crucial, because stereotypes about who should study STEM have been found to have a significant impact on girls being able to see themselves in STEM careers (International Coalition of Girls’ Schools [ICGS], 2024). This research represents a unique mentoring model that can be scaled up or down and replicated in girls’ schools to help support students as they seek to follow their STEM aspirations.
Despite numerous interventions that have been developed to support female STEM engagement, there still exists a significant drop in girls’ participation in STEM during middle school and the undergraduate years of tertiary study (Akin et al., 2024, p. 452). This has been linked to a “clear shift in girls’ social identity relative to mathematics during middle school”, and a further decrease in female STEM enrolments after completing secondary school (Akin et al., 2024, p. 452). In particular, self-confidence in mathematics can have a significant impact on girls’ STEM identities more broadly. An interdisciplinary group of both researchers and STEM practitioners have developed a model called Improving Girls’ Math Identity (IGMI) to address these issues at both undergraduate college level and middle school.
The IGMI programme involves the recruitment and training of undergraduate women studying STEM to become mentors and workshop leaders for local middle school girls. This serves a dual purpose of providing mentoring and workshop opportunities to adolescent girls, and also the creation of a network of female STEM undergraduate students. IGMI was designed to help undergraduate women and middle school girls develop a positive mathematics or STEM identity. This was intended to improve not only their beliefs and attitudes about STEM, but also “the degree to which they see themselves as members of the corresponding community” (Akin et al., 2024, p. 453). Undergraduate students were provided with the necessary training and materials to deliver workshops and mentoring to middle school girls. The research case study included this content as part of a broader curriculum, however, it can also be offered as an extra-curricular offering. IGMI was run successfully three times during this research, in both in-person and virtual formats (due to pandemic restrictions).
The IGMI goals are achieved through three key approaches to support the development of a positive STEM identity. The first is the belief that the student is capable of completing the training necessary to be a STEM professional. The second is the belief that a STEM-related career is “personally relevant and meaningful to the student’s broader life goals” (Akin et al., 2024, p. 454). Finally, this connects with the belief that STEM fields, both educationally and professionally, have the capacity to be a welcoming environment – something that is also supported through the development of healthy, positive female STEM networks during the IGMI programme. Targeting these three areas responds to research showing that developing a positive mathematics or STEM identity is crucial to supporting girls who wish to pursue study in this field. (ICGS, 2024). IGMI also focusses on enhanced mathematical skills building. This includes metacognition, problem-based learning, and spatial reasoning.
Developed as a scalable model that can be replicated in girls’ schools, the IGMI intervention provides benefits for both the middle school and undergraduate participants. Both middle school girls and women in undergraduate courses who participated in IGMI showed “improved mathematical self-efficacy and confidence” (Akin et al., 2024, p. 453). This was especially apparent in the presentation of mathematical work, problem-solving skills, and improved skills when approaching new problems. Beyond these skills, however, there also exists the development of a professional support network among undergraduate women, and a positive mentorship programme for middle school girls. Undergraduate women also gained an increased understanding of barriers to female participation in STEM, which in turn led participants to feel more empowered when navigating the STEM environment in their university studies and potential employment opportunities. It also led to improved confidence and leadership skills, and an increased desire from undergraduate women to maintain ongoing involvement in supporting adolescent girls on their own STEM journeys.
This model represents an important opportunity for girls’ schools to bring together adolescent girls and undergraduate women who have a shared interest and desire to study STEM, while al
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Type
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Research Report
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Research Category
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Middle Grades (ages 11-14)
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STEM & STEAM
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Institution
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ICGS
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Year of Study
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2024
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Identifier
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41004
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Publisher
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ICGS
