Collaborative Research: INSITE: INtegrating STEM Into Transition Education for Incarcerated Learners

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The project will investigate the impact of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) App-based curriculum on STEM career knowledge, interests, competencies, and readiness for incarcerated youth. Integrating STEM into Transition Education for Incarcerated Learners (INSITE) will integrate STEM workforce development activities into Merging Worlds, an empirically supported transition program, and deliver it through a UDL App-based framework to prepare and support STEM career readiness and employment for incarcerated youth age 14-19. INSITE will utilize a Design-based Research approach to (1) co-design the INSITE curriculum with incarcerated learners, juvenile justice educators, and STEM employers, and (2) test the impact of the curriculum on STEM employment outcomes. The INSITE curriculum will be grounded in evidence-based research on incarcerated youth, STEM education, transition, recidivism, and workforce development. The curriculum will prepare and support career readiness that mediates the impact of limited access, exposure, and skill development for an untapped STEM workforce with vast potential.The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) will serve as the theoretical framework to guide the research activities supporting the INSITE curriculum development. The rationale is that the theory allows for the contextual affordances and barriers that can influence individuals' career choices and actions. The research questions are (1) How prepared are incarcerated learners to transition to the STEM workforce? (2) What types of STEM workforce outcomes are incarcerated learners experiencing post-release? (3) What are the functional components of a STEM transition curriculum? (4) In what ways does the INSITE curriculum impact STEM career readiness and career actions of incarcerated youth? and (5) What are the roles of contextual variables and cognitive variables on STEM career readiness and career actions for incarcerated youth? Data will be collected in iterative design and test phases that employ longitudinal, quasi-experimental, and qualitative case studies. INSITE will produce products across six topics aligned with the research questions and associated research plan. The findings are expected to document the impact of a novel intervention that prepares an underserved population for the STEM workforce.The project is funded by the EHR Core Research program that supports fundamental STEM education research that focuses on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.