2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract
Student proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects is a significant concern among agencies nationwide. A reported decrease in student proficiency levels as students progress through school impacts the ability to meet the market demand for qualified engineers and specialists. Further, some STEM fields have diversity issues, with lower participation from women and underrepresented minorities due to numerous reasons. STEM Summer Camps can alleviate this concern by exposing participants from diverse backgrounds to the topical areas, encouraging participating students to pursue STEM-based careers, and helping the nation meet the need for a STEM-focused workforce. Thus, given the need to ensure a diverse set of student participants in summer camps, including women and underrepresented minorities, and the ability of Summer Camps to alleviate the problem, this research determines the diversity of STEM summer camp attendees in the US over two decades. The three-staged research included sample selection, parameter development, and descriptive statistical analysis. Sample selection was dictated by factors such as the ASEE article and publication date (in twenty years). Parameter development included identifying five parameters, "population, race, gender, age, and targeted population," as they are integral for obtaining insights into the summer camp attendee diversity. The research presents the findings of a meta-analysis of ASEE articles published from 1998-2017 that influenced 1,795 students. Although some of the summer camps targeted minorities, most did not meet their target. The preliminary analysis of the compiled data indicates that the STEM-based summer camps influenced more than 1,700 students. The preliminary results also indicate limited minority participation (gender and race), with most participants demonstrating positive feedback and interest in pursuing STEM. These findings are significant as they help facilitate enhanced participation from minorities in the STEM fields both in education and as a possible career choice, and in the process, contribute towards solving the problem of limited high-quality workforce in these fields.

Keywords
STEM summer camp, metanalysis, minority and low-income students, participant gender and race