Prior research suggests that students endorsing a science identity are more likely to participate in optional science experiences and choose STEM careers. Science identity is a topical identity, which refers to an identity related to a topic rather than a social or cultural group. However, studies of topical identities typically examine them in isolation. The current study identified typically occurring combinations of topical identities as identity complexes to determine whether science identity would tend to occur within STEM-only complexes or together within larger topical identity complexes. Over 1200 urban public-school students in 6th, 7th, and 9th grades from two different regions in the USA completed surveys asking about their topical identities, choice preferences, and optional science experiences. Latent class analyses revealed that students often endorse science identities in the context of other unrelated identities like athletic and artistic identities. Further, the frequency (overall and relative to each other) of the two high-science identity complexes varied substantially by gender, ethnicity, and grade. These patterns were not simple reflects of the commonly observed overall rates of science identity by demographics. Further, students in topical complexes with high science identity still had high participation in optional science experiences despite having many topical identities that could compete for time. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.

Background Large achievement and motivation gaps exist in science between students from higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Middle and high school are an important time to address these disparities, as science motivation typically declines for all students at this time, leading to particularly low science interest and achievement for lower SES students on average when the gaps are left unaddressed. Students' control over their free time also increases at this time, providing opportunities for optional science experiences that may improve science attitudes and skills to combat these achievement and motivation gaps. Using a longitudinal dataset of 2252 middle and high school students from two regions in the USA, we investigate (1) disparities between higher and lower SES students in participation in optional summer science experiences and post-summer science attitudes and skills; (2) whether the child and family characteristics that predict participation in home-related, nature-related, and STEM camp experiences in the summer differ for higher and lower SES students; and (3) how participation in these types of optional summer science experiences contribute to post-summer science attitudes and skills when controlling for self-selection biases. Results Higher SES students reported greater participation in optional summer science experiences and higher post-summer science attitudes and sensemaking skills. Fascination for science was more important for participation in home-related and nature-related experiences for higher SES participants, whereas science competency beliefs were more important for lower SES participants. For STEM camp experiences, higher SES participants with higher competency beliefs and lower SES participants with lower scientific sensemaking skills were more likely to participate. After controlling for self-selection biases that may influence participation in these experiences, we found that home-related and nature-related experiences had a positive impact on students' attitudes toward science. Conclusions Our findings suggest two pathways for increasing participation in optional summer science experiences for higher SES and lower SES students. Specifically, it may be helpful to support interest in science for higher SES students and competency beliefs for lower SES students. Greater participation in home-related and nature-related summer science experiences can also increase science attitudes during middle and high school.

Science consists of a body of knowledge and a set of processes by which the knowledge is produced. Although these have traditionally been treated separately in science instruction, there has been a shift to an integration of knowledge and processes, or set of practices, in how science should be taught and assessed. We explore whether a general overall mastery of the processes drives learning in new science content areas and if this overall mastery can be improved through engaged science learning. Through a review of literature, the paper conceptualizes this general process mastery as scientific sensemaking, defines the sub-dimensions, and presents a new measure of the construct centered in scenarios of general interest to young adolescents. Using a dataset involving over 2500 6th and 8th grade students, the paper shows that scientific sensemaking scores can predict content learning gains and that this relationship is consistent across student characteristics, content of instruction, and classroom environment. Further, students who are behaviorally and cognitively engaged during science classroom activities show greater growth in scientific sensemaking, showing a reciprocal relationship between sensemaking ability and effective science instruction. Findings from this work support early instruction on sensemaking activities to better position students to learn new scientific content.

Ages 10-14 mark a period in which children develop a strong sense of whether science is 'for them,' a time that typically coincides with the start of middle school in the United States and their first exposure to more rigorous science classes and testing. Experiences with science in and out of school can shape children's motivation to choose science careers or participate in voluntary science classes later on, for better or worse. We explore the hypothesis that children who engage in more informal educational science experiences at the start of this period are more likely than their peers to obtain and maintain interest, curiosity, and mastery goals in science (together forming a construct called fascination). We measured 983 children's fascination with science at the beginning and middle of sixth grade. We found that the children who participated in informal science during this time were more likely to maintain or have greater fascination than at the start. These findings held while also controlling for many potentially confounding covariates and are robust across subgroups by gender and race/ethnicity. Further, the effects are largest for those children whose family generally supports their learning.

BackgroundA major concern in science education involves the under-representation of many groups in science and technology fields, especially by gender (Brotman and Moore, J Res Sci Teach 45:971-1002, 2008; Clark Blickenstaff, Gend Educ 17:369-386, 2006), stemming from an intersection of systemic obstacles (Cantu, Equity Excell Educ 45:472-487, 2012; Rosa and Mensah, Phys Rev Phys Educ Res 12:020113, 2016). Research on persistence of minoritized populations within science trajectories has often highlighted identity as particularly important (Archer et al., Sci Educ 94:617-639, 2010; Barton and Calabrese, Am Educ Res J 50:37-75, 2007; Barton et al., Am Educ Res J 50:37-75, 2013; Merolla and Serpe, Soc Psychol Educ 16:575-597, 2013).ResultsThis study quantitatively investigated the nature of science identity in over 1300 seventh and ninth grade students from a range of urban US public schools using survey data on science identity, choice preferences, and optional science experiences. Factor analyses validated this conceptualization of science identity as integrating perceived internal and external identity components. Regression analyses revealed the importance of this conceptualization of science identity for driving students' choices at this crucial developmental period. Furthermore, science identity had a complex differential function in supporting students' optional science choices by gender.ConclusionsThe novel contribution to the science identity field highlights the specific multi-component ways in which students endorse science identity in middle school and early high school. There was an important finding that science identity has a complex differential function in supporting student's optional science choices by gender. Thus, at this age, developing a strong science identity is especially critical for girls.

The reciprocal relations of motivation with affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement were tested. Engagement, conceptualized as processes that indicate productive participation in learning activities, was measured using the Activity Engagement Survey with students participating in a variety of activities in both schools and a museum. The multifaceted nature of engagement and the consistency of this structure across contexts and activities was examined over six different science activities on six different days within classrooms (Study 1, sixth graders from 10 different schools) and over two different science museum exhibits in one day (Study 2, fifth graders). These age groups were chosen because they are a pivotal time in science motivation. A series of confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to investigate the nature of affective, behavioral, cognitive, and overall engagement. A bifactor model with both affective and combined behavioral-cognitive factors along with an overall engagement factor had the best fit across all eight activities. Reciprocal relations between motivation (measured at Time 1 and Time 3) and engagement (at Time 2) were tested using Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicate that, in school settings (Study 1), self-efficacy was negatively related and mastery goals were positively related to affective engagement, whereas overall engagement predicted all forms of motivation. In the museum exhibits (Study 2), self-efficacy was positively related to overall engagement and performance-approach goal orientations were positively related to behavioral-cognitive engagement.

This paper proposes three new measures of components STEM career preferences (affinity, certainty, and goal), and then explores which dimensions of "science learning activation" (fascination, values, competency belief, and scientific sensemaking) are predictive of STEM career preferences. Drawn from the ALES14 dataset, a sample of 2938 sixth and eighth grade middle-school students from 11 schools in two purposefully selected diverse areas (Western Pennsylvania & the Bay Area of California) was used for the analyses presented in this paper. These schools were chosen to represent socio-economic and ethnic diversity. Findings indicate that, overall, youth who are "activated" towards science learning are more likely to have affinity towards STEM careers, certainty about their future career goals, and have identified a specific STEM career goal. However, different dimensions of science learning activation are more strongly correlated with different aspects career preference across different STEM career foci (e.g. science, engineering, technology, health, etc.). Gender, age, minority status, and home resources also have explanatory power. While many results are consistent with prior research, there are also novel results that offer important fodder for future research. Critically, our strategy of measuring affinity towards the specific disciplines that make up STEM, measuring STEM and health career goals separately, and looking at career affinity and career goals separately, offers interesting results and underscores the value of disentangling the conceptual melting pot of what has previously been known as 'career interest.' Study findings also have implications for design of science learning opportunities for youth.

While motivational changes towards science are common during adolescence, our work asks which perceived classroom experiences are most strongly related to these changes. Additionally, we examine which experiences are most strongly associated with learning classroom content. In particular, using self-reports from a sample of approximately 3000 middle school students, this study investigates the influence of perceived science classroom experiences, namely student engagement and perceived success, on motivational change (fascination, values, competency belief) and content knowledge. Controlling for demographic information, school effects, and initial levels of motivation and content knowledge, we find that dimensions of engagement (affect, behavioural/cognitive) and perceived success are differentially associated with changes in particular motivational constructs and learning. Affective engagement is positively associated with motivational outcomes and negatively associated with learning outcomes, behavioural-cognitive engagement is associated only with learning, and perceived success is related only to motivational outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Multiple reasons shape how young people and families choose to participate in informal learning programs at museums and other settings. Youth interest is likely a factor, but so might be geographic proximity, institutional affiliation, household income, and race/ethnicity. We examined the relative impact of these factors through a comparative study of two art programs; one a small, neighborhood-based organization focused on art and STEM, and the other a program in a well-established art museum. The smaller program tended to draw youth from closer geographic proximity. Interest in art drove attendance at both programs, but institutional membership was also important. Demographic factors also were a factor, and race/ethnicity was more strongly associated with program placement than household income. We discuss the importance of better understanding of such factors as museums and other programs continue to grow as important sites for learning.

The number of women studying STEM careers and pursuing graduate degrees has not changed in the last decade (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2015; Science & Engineering Degree Attainment: 2004-2014). Most prior research to explain this problem has focused on the topics of identity, access, pedagogy, and choice (Brotman & Moore, 2008; Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45, 971-1002). Additional research is needed on how internal and external factors interact with one another to demotivate girls and young women from pursuing science careers. Here, we show how girls' competency beliefs are an essential foundation for science content learning during middle school and how these effects of competency beliefs are mediated by in and out-of-school factors. We recruited over 2,900 6th and 8th grade students from two different regions in the United States. At two different time points, students completed surveys asking about their stance toward science such as competency beliefs in science, willingness to engage in argumentation, and choice preferences toward optional science experiences. We also collected a reasoning ability measure, and pre- and post-tests on science content knowledge. Moreover, students also reported on their cognitive behavioral engagement during a sampled science class on two separate occasions. Multiple regression and mediation analyses show that as boys grow older, their willingness to engage in argumentation and to participate in science experiences suppresses the role of competency beliefs on their learning science content. By contrast, as girls grew older, they showed an increasing need to have high competency beliefs to achieve strong content learning gains. Our results demonstrate that despite girls' willingness to participate in scientific argumentation and to take part in science experiences, they probably do not receive enough support in their environment to access the benefits of these experiences, and hence they have a stronger need to have high competency beliefs in order to achieve significant growth in science learning. (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54:790-822, 2017