Our world is changing rapidly, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) occupations are no exception. STEM occupations have grown 79% since 1990 and are projected to grow by 10.3% percent by 2030. This rapid growth in STEM occupations highlights the importance of starking student STEM interest at a young age.
Research demonstrates the importance of developing children’s STEM identity beginning as early as elementary school. Introducing STEM concepts at a young age is essential to not only knowledge but also comfortability, and awareness. Early exposure to different STEM career paths increases the chance of a student choosing STEM as their career destination.
At SHPE we believe that all Hispanic pre-college students can excel in STEM if they are provided the tools and resources to support their progress toward a STEM degree no matter where they are in their academic journey. SHPE’s Destino STEM is a pre-college program that brings STEM concepts to hundreds of Hispanic and Latinx K-12 students with a variety of opportunities and experiences that spark excitement for STEM. Our pre-college efforts meet students where they are – both developmentally and geographically. We bring hands-on STEM experiences to their home, their school, their community, and their computer. We strive for our students to truly have access to these offerings and explore them without any limits.
Destino STEM objectives are grouped into three (3) main categories:
1. increasing awareness of STEM fields and careers;
2. increasing participants’ beliefs about their ability to succeed in STEM; and
3. increasing participants’ sense of STEM identity.
In this paper we discuss our pre-college programming design, process, results, and continuous improvement efforts. Results include determining whether SHPE K-12 students pursue a STEM degree and/or career as well as measuring progress towards the three goals described above.
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