Bridging the Gap: The Effects of A School-To-Career Approach To Promoting Wildlife Science Careers Among Minority Students

野生动物保护协会和好牧羊人服务(一家青年发展和教育机构)正在实施和评估一项从学校到职业的示范计划，该计划包括在纽约市地区的四个动物园和一个水族馆为高中生提供课外和周末规划，然后是参与后跟踪、支持和指导。其目标是在150名低收入少数族裔青年中促进情感、认知和行为结果，这是从事野生动物科学事业所必需的。The Bridge the Gap项目是(1)开发一个科学职业计划，其中包括在动物园/水族馆的实践、技术丰富的科学学习经验；职业建设服务、指导和长期跟踪和支持；(2)形成一个拥有从事野生动物职业生涯的知识和技能的少数族裔学生社区；(3)产生关于该计划短期和长期有效性的研究结果；以及(4)向全国其他非正式科学教育机构传播关于该项目资源和发现的信息，以供复制。评价计划衡量各种产出、结果和影响，包括短期和长期的认知和情感变量。数据收集方法包括学生活动监测和后测。该项目解决了美国动物园和水族馆协会记录的一个引人注目的人事问题--在动物园和水族馆工作的少数少数民族科学专业人员。由于目前几乎没有帮助少数族裔学生进入野生动物科学专业的计划，该项目满足了一个重要的计划需求，并作为一个模范劳动力计划，可以被全国其他非正式科学教育组织复制。该项目的关键战略影响是其通过从高中开始扩大科学专业管道，扩大对野生动物科学的参与的能力。

The Wildlife Conservation Society and Good Shepherd Services (a youth development and education agency) are implementing and evaluating a school-to-career model program that consists of afterschool and weekend programming for high school students at four New York City area zoos and an aquarium, followed by post-participation tracking, support, and mentoring. The goal is to promote affective, cognitive and behavioral outcomes among 150 low-income minority youth necessary to pursue careers in the wildlife sciences. The Bridging the Gap project is (1) developing a science career program that includes hands-on, technology-enriched, science learning experiences at zoos/aquaria; career building services, mentoring, and long-term tracking and support, (2) forming a community of minority students who have the knowledge and skills to pursue wildlife careers, (3) generating research findings on the short-term and long-term effectiveness of the program, and (4) disseminating information about the project's resources and findings to other informal science education institutions around the nation for replication. The evaluation plan measures a variety of outputs, outcomes and impacts that include short-term and long-term cognitive and affective variables. Data collection methods include student activity monitoring and pre-post testing. The project addresses a compelling personnel issue documented by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association - the small number of minority science professionals working in zoos and aquariums. Because few programs currently exist to help minority students enter the wildlife science professions, this project fills an important programmatic need and serves as a model workforce program that can be replicated by other informal science education organizations around the country. The project's key strategic impact is its capacity to broaden participation in the wildlife sciences by expanding the science professional pipeline beginning in high school.