FOSTERING STEM INTEREST IN MIDDLE-SCHOOL GIRLS THROUGH COMMUNITY-EMBEDDED INTEGRATED STEM

Women are underrepresented in STEM, with the decline in attitudes among girls occurring during the middle-school years. The purpose of this study is to explore STEM interest in girls through their participation in integrated STEM in order to find ways to motivate, engage, and sustain their STEM interest. The following research question guided this study: What components of a community-embedded, integrated STEM experience promote STEM interest in middle-school girls? This single explanatory case study took place at an emerging urban STEM middle school in the midwestern United States. The entire seventh grade participated in two integrated STEM units. All seventh graders had the opportunity to participate in an additional project based on one of the two STEM units. Seven target girls were purposefully selected as participants based on their consent to complete all research requirements. This study illuminated five themes, each emerging as an important aspect of community-embedded STEM integration that may help to foster STEM interest in middle-school girls: (a) community and personal connections to helping oth-ers, (b) self-confidence and self-efficacy, (c) supportive and collaborative community, (d) student agency and choice, and (e) perseverance, persistence, and learning from failure. Findings from this study can be used to develop and guide further integrated STEM curricula that focuses on improving STEM interest, with the ultimate goal of increasing representation of women in these areas. The authors of this study challenge educators to find ways to support female success in STEM by improving their STEM interest.