Interventions to increase young people's interest in STEM. A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Education
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Young people, particularly females, are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
• This underrepresentation has led to numerous intervention programs and research efforts to enhance interest in STEM areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of interventions aimed at increasing STEM interest among secondary school students, with a focus on female students.
• To analyze the characteristics and effectiveness of these interventions over the past 20 years.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed across five databases, supplemented by additional search strategies.
• 215 studies evaluating interventions in various STEM disciplines were identified, with data extraction and synthesis focusing on methodologies and theoretical underpinnings.
• Twenty-five exemplar studies were selected to highlight best practices in intervention design and evaluation.

Main Results:

• Interventions often target environmental and school factors to influence personal factors related to STEM interest, such as achievement, self-perception of ability, and self-efficacy.
• The review identified common characteristics and theoretical foundations of successful interventions.
• Best practices for designing and evaluating interventions were illustrated through selected exemplars.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide insights into effective strategies for designing future interventions to promote STEM interest in young people, particularly girls.
• Understanding the interplay between environmental, school, and personal factors is crucial for boosting STEM engagement.
• The review discusses implications for future research and potential outcomes of targeted interventions.