- Title
- STEM Outreach: Are We Making a Difference? A Case Study Evaluating the Science and Engineering Challenge Program
- Creator
- Reed, Stephanie; Prieto-Rodriguez, Elena; Burns, Terry; O'Connor, John
- Relation
- Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement Vol. 25, Issue 2, p. 59-77
- Publisher
- University of Georgia
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach programs aim to increase participation in STEM fields. However, the impact of these programs is rarely measured due to inherent difficulties in conducting long-term evaluations. This article presents a decadal evaluation of the Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC), an Australian STEM outreach program. From 2006 to 2015, 5,210 high school and 2,445 first-year university students were surveyed to assess whether the SEC influenced their decision to pursue STEM studies. Of the high school physics students, 51.9% reported that the SEC influenced their decision to study physics. A smaller yet significant impact was reported by chemistry (35.2%) and mathematics (32.0%) students. Further, 30.9% of university students indicated that the SEC influenced their decision to pursue a STEM degree. These findings demonstrate that long-term evaluation of outreach program effects is achievable and that outreach programs can indeed have a demonstrable impact on student career choices.
- Subject
- engineering outreach; evaluation; secondary school; high school; STEM
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1435210
- Identifier
- uon:39645
- Identifier
- ISSN:1534-6102
- Language
- eng
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