Investigating the Impact of an Outreach Intervention on Girls’ STEM Identity Formation

Authors

Keywords:

STEM education; identity; gender stereotypes

Abstract

Previous research demonstrates that developing a STEM identity is key to students achieving long-term engagement with STEM. This paper reports on a 10-week intervention combining the use of mentors with real-world problem-solving activities with the aim to contribute to girls’ STEM identity formation and improve their interest and participation in STEM. The intervention was delivered in nine schools to 200 girls aged 13-16 in the Hunter region, Australia, with the aid of 31 mentors who supported them as they worked in small groups. All participants were invited to complete post-intervention group interviews [30 interviews, 3-6 per group] to gain insight into their perceptions of the importance of STEM subjects, careers, and skills; and to determine whether our program had any effect on those perceptions. Girls demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of societal influences that impacted their relationship to, and likelihood of pursuing STEM careers, including certain barriers such as gender stereotypes. Girls found the most useful elements of the intervention focused on contextualising how STEM learning could be applied in practice. Incorporating problem-based activities into STEM learning and providing opportunities for girls to see women working in real-life STEM roles emerged as key factors in the development of STEM identities. 

Author Biographies

  • Elena Prieto-Rodriguez, University of Newcastle

    Dr Elena Prieto-Rodriguez is an Associate Professor in Mathematics Education at the University of Newcastle. She holds a Bachelor degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Theoretical Computer Science. From 2005, she has worked extensively in STEM education, including several Australia-wide research projects. She is currently engaged in several projects focused on gender equity and teacher professional development. She is a member of the University of Newcastle Teachers and Teaching Research Centre where she leads the STEM Education Group. 

  • Kristina Sincock, University of Newcastle

    Dr Kristina Sincock is a research assistant for the HunterWiSE project where she is responsible for managing research and evaluation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a PhD in English Literature. She has been involved in STEM outreach as a volunteer for many years. 

  • Regina Berretta, University of Newcastle

    Prof Berretta is Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Newcastle, holding degrees in Computational and Applied Mathematics, Master and PhD in Engineering. Her research expertise involves combinatorial optimisation problems in different areas as inventory management, supply chain, production planning, timetabling, and bioinformatics. 

    Prof Berretta has been in several leadership positions, including Head of Discipline, Deputy Head of School, and recently Assistant Dean – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Prof Berretta is a co-founder of HunterWISE, a group dedicated to support girls and women in STEM through a school intervention program and a series of networking events.

  • Karen Blackmore, University of Newcastle

    Karen Blackmore is an Associate Professor in Information Technology at the University of Newcastle. Karen has expertise in the modelling and simulation of complex social and environmental systems. Her research interests cover the use of agent-based models for simulation of socio-spatial interactions, and the use of virtual environments and serious games for learning.  Her research is cross-disciplinary and empirical in nature, and considers the ways that humans engage and interact with technology. She has expertise in the study of affective processing, data mining and analytics, experimental design and physiological measurement, with research considering how best to quantify the complex interactions occurring in digital environments. 

  • Juanita Todd, University of Newcastle

    Juanita Todd is a Professor in the School of Psychology at UoN, holding a BSc (Hons), Masters of Psychology (Clinical) and PhD in Psychology. Her research expertise involves utilising multiple measures (clinical, neuropsychological, psychophysical, pharmacological and neuroimaging) to explore relationships between experience, ability and brain function. To date her research has been governed by a particular interest in the mental illness schizophrenia but expands to exploring functions pivotal to cognition and perception in general.   

  • Erica Wanless, University of Newcastle

    Prof. Wanless is Professor of Physical Chemistry in the Faculty of Science at the University of Newcastle. Her research is grounded in fundamental and applied colloid and interface science. Her research expertise involves smart polymer coatings, specific ion effects, particle-stabilised foams and emulsions, and liquid marbles. 

    Prof. Wanless has held research leadership roles including Assistant Dean Research Training in her Faculty, panel member for Excellence Research Australia and member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts. 

    Prof. Wanless is a co-founder of HunterWISE, a group dedicated to support girls and women in STEM through a school intervention program and a series of networking events. 

  • Sarah Johnson, University of Newcastle

    Sarah Johnson is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia.  The underlying theme of Sarah’s technical research is information and signal processing technologies encompassing applications in communications systems and in medical systems. She is currently working on projects developing new communications technologies for the Internet of Things. Sarah was awarded the NSW Premiers prize for Excellence in Engineering and Information and Communications Technology. Sarah is a founding member of HunterWiSE, a group dedicated to the support of female STEM professionals, and to engaging female high school students in STEM subjects. 

  • Anna Giacomini, University of Newcastle

    Professor Anna Giacomini is the Director of the Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical Science and Engineering (PRCGSE) at The University of Newcastle. Anna has pioneered and established the rock mechanics research at the University of Newcastle applied to civil and mining engineering. The impact that her innovative research makes has been recognised by the 2018 John Booker Medal from the Australian Academy of Science. Anna sits on the editorial board of and is a reviewer for leading international journals in her field, and she serves as an expert assessor for international funding bodies, including the European Union, and the Australian Research Council. 

Network Gender and STEM logo

Downloads

Published

19-12-2022

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2022): Addressing Gender Inequities in STEM through Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Section

Special Issue: Addressing Gender Inequities in STEM through Interdisciplinary Perspectives

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

How to Cite

Investigating the Impact of an Outreach Intervention on Girls’ STEM Identity Formation. (2022). International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 14(2), 183-206. https://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/1394