Citation
Koch, M., & Gorges, T. (2012). Inspiring girls and their female after school educators to pursue computer science and other STEM careers. International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 4(3), 294-312.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of facilitating Build IT, an extracurricular information technology (IT) program for middle-school girls, on the facilitators’ interest in STEM education and careers. The authors also described outcomes for girls who participated in the facilitator-led program.
- The study relied on a survey administered to 31 program facilitators after they had been involved with the program for one year.
- The study found no statistically significant relationships between facilitating Build IT and interest in STEM education and careers.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not use a research design that supported causal inference or control for factors other than Build IT that could contribute to the observed outcomes.
Intervention Examined
Build IT
Features of the Intervention
The Build IT program, an extracurricular series focused on developing low-income middle school girls’ IT capacity, was offered at 33 Girls, Inc. network sites in the United States and Canada. This study focused on the facilitators who implemented the program. Facilitators completed a three-day teacher training before leading one year of after-school sessions, with three additional follow-up trainings by webinar throughout the year.
Features of the Study
The authors administered a survey to 31 Built IT facilitators following their involvement with the program for at least one year, 25 of whom responded. The facilitators, primarily young women of color, answered questions regarding their perceptions of the program, their assessment of the program’s future, and their interest in pursuing further education or employment in STEM.
Findings
- The study found no statistically significant relationships between facilitating Build IT and interest in STEM education and careers.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors acknowledged that factors other than Build IT might have contributed to the observed outcomes, but nonetheless attribute the facilitators’ interest in STEM careers and education to Build IT when the methodology did not support such claims. To demonstrate a Build IT effect, the authors would have to compare women who facilitated Build IT with women who were not involved in the program. Because the authors did not make such a comparison, the survey results permit only descriptive, not causal, conclusions.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not use a research design that supports causal inference or control for factors other than Build IT that could have contributed to the observed outcomes.