Broadening Participation in STEM Through Virtual Reality Career Exploration: Introducing Underrepresented Students to High Need STEM Careers

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The project will examine the efficacy of an intervention designed to increase self-efficacy and motivation to pursue STEM careers among rural high school students. Researchers will use a design-based approach to partner with rural school districts tointroduce students to high-need STEM career fields using virtual reality technology and career exploration modules. They will also guide students in assessing their potential fit for these fields. The researchers hypothesize that student career decision making self-efficacy and career outcome expectations will statistically improve as a result of the intervention. The project will beimplemented in two stages: development of the curriculum modules and then implementation of the interventionwith research being conducted concurrently. The project is designed to broaden participation in the STEM workforce for those in rural communities, particularly women and underrepresented groups, by exposing students and school counselors to potential high-need careers.Guided by social cognitive career theory, the researchers will employ an experimental design with randomization within clusters to measure the effectiveness of the intervention by investigating four research questions: (1) What is the magnitude of theeffect of a STEM career exploration intervention using virtual reality technology on student career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? (2) How do student inputs of gender, race/ethnicity,and personality impact the effects of participation in the career intervention on outcomes of career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? (3) How does student socio-economic status impact the effects ofparticipation in the career intervention on outcomes of career decision making self-efficacy, career outcome expectations, and knowledge of the targeted careers? and (4) How do students characterize the effectiveness of the career exploration interventionin developing their understanding of, and interest in, the target careers? Data will be collected pre- and post-intervention. Additionally, student focus groups will be used to collect data from a representative sample of students from the treatmentcondition at each school. The project will produce a proof-of-concept for the efficacy of virtual reality technology in rural educational settings.The project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program that supports fundamental research focused on STEM learning and learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM professional 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.