It is essential that all students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have the motivational supports to persist in their STEM career trajectories. "STEM role models," or successful individuals in STEM, can be powerful tools to motivate college students towards STEM careers, particularly if students…

Community colleges provide broad access to a college degree due to their less expensive tuition, greater course time offerings, and more open admission policies compared to four-year universities as reported (Juszkiewicz, 2015). These institutions have great potential to diversify who chooses STEM, such as engineering. Such diverse representation…

Is exposing students to role models an effective tool for diversifying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? So far, the evidence for this claim is mixed. Here, we set out to identify systematic sources of variability in STEM role models' effects on student motivation: If we determine "which role models" are effective…

The journey to achieve gender diversity in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] subjects appears to be a slow one. According to UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admission Service) data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, just 35 per cent of STEM students in higher education in the UK [United Kingdom] are women (STEM…

Students are not succeeding in post-secondary education in California: 52% of community college students and 46% of students in 4-year institutions fail to graduate within 6 years. Traditionally underrepresented students have far higher rates of non-completion. In part this is because they have not been given an opportunity to engage in a…

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative…

Using data collected from participants in an entrepreneurship education workshop series, the author examined the series' impact and tested a model of entrepreneurial intentions incorporating social and psychological factors. He found that entrepreneurial disposition and workshop participation significantly influenced intentions, exposure to role…

As of 2014, four percent of all 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States had left high school without graduating for a total of 690,000 youth. The current rate of youth leaving schools represents a decline from a high of approximately fourteen percent 40 years ago. The possible reasons for improvement include improved academic measurement and…

This brief is based on an econometric study conducted in 2016 by Thomas Malone and Dr. Jonathan Zaff. The nation's high school graduation rate has been rising over the past decade and is now at a historic high. As of 2014, however, four percent of all 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States--a total of 690,000 young people--had left high school…

This article presents a reflective analysis of an outreach programme called the Digital Divas Club. This curriculum-based programme was delivered in Australian schools with the aim of stimulating junior and middle school girls' interest in computing courses and careers. We believed that we had developed a strong intervention programme based on…

As engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) increases in after-school programs (ASPs), it is important to examine the impact of this engagement on students' academic achievement, STEM participation, and affinity toward STEM. Results of these examinations can offer insights into both best practices that could be…

Currently, there are policy debates regarding the efficacy and legality of single sex formal and informal education programs. This issue is particularly poignant in science education due to the historical marginalization of women in these fields. This marginalization has resulted in women being positioned as a stigmatized group within many…

The prevalence of women in the teaching profession has been claimed by various scholars to be responsible for the low school performance among boys. Based on this claim there have been widespread calls for increasing the share of male teachers as a means of improving boys' school performance. There is, however, very little empirical evidence…

This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of peer-mediated interventions for promoting social interactions among children from birth to eight years of age diagnosed with ASD. Forty-five single-subject design studies were analyzed and the effect sizes were calculated by the regression model developed by Allison and Gorman (1993). The overall…

The authors present the feasibility and acceptability of a parent sexuality education program led by peer educators in community settings. They also report the results of an outcome evaluation with 71 parents who were randomized to the intervention or a control group and surveyed one month prior to and six months after the four-week intervention.…