ITEST Convening: Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM

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The ITEST Learning Resource Center at the Education Development Center, Inc., (EDC) requests funding for a convening designed to develop a theoretical framework to guide future research on youth motivation in STEM with a particular emphasis on populations most underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Two guiding questions will be the focus of the event: What is currently known about motivation in STEM for underrepresented youth? What can be done to cultivate new research around STEM motivation for underrepresented youth? The primary target audience is sociologists, psychologists, and researchers in STEM motivation and career development research, and members of the ITEST community including principal investigators, evaluators, and program directors. Secondary audiences include STEM program developers and practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders that are building the STEM workforce. Prior to the conference, a select number of attendees will be invited to draft white papers on topics such as motivation, self-identity, and educational practices in formal and informal settings. The white papers will be presented during the 2.5 day convening and used to guide the conversations. A unique feature will be the inclusion of 12 youth participants who will populate a pre-conference blog with reflections of their experiences in ITEST projects and respond to an online survey. Youth will be fully integrated into the meetings as presenters and participants in sessions that focus on STEM program design. The deliverables include a theoretical research framework to guide future STEM motivation research, survey data and analysis from ITEST projects related to interest and motivation, survey data from youth participants, suggestions for ITEST PIs to integrate measures into their programs, and a post-convening webcast. The project evaluation will be conducted by MPR Associates using qualitative and survey data. Evaluation questions address planning, convening logistics, synthesis of information, and dissemination. After the convening, a final report will be published on the ITEST Learning Resource Center website. A post-convening web-conference will be held to stimulate new research projects and the development of STEM motivation instruments. It is anticipated that the convening will result in new working relationships among participants, identification of ITEST program elements that foster effective STEM motivation, career discovery, and motivation, and a map of ITEST impacts on youth motivation in STEM. New research efforts that address youth motivation in STEM should result from the research framework and the ITEST community and the field at large will be better informed about how to define, validate, and replicate motivational aspects of the STEM workforce development strategies.