Early informal STEM experiences and STEM identity: The importance of talking science

Dou, Remy; Hazari, Zahra; Dabney, Katherine; Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip

doi:10.1002/sce.21499

Cited by 326Career Development and DiversityScience Education and PerceptionsEducation, Achievement, and Giftedness

Early informal STEM experiences and STEM identity: The importance of talking science

Dou, Remy, Hazari, Zahra, Dabney, Katherine, Sonnert, Gerhard, Sadler, Philip·2019·Science Education

DOI 10.1002/sce.21499

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the relationship between participants’ childhood science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related experiences, their STEM identity (i.e., seeing oneself as a STEM person), and their college career intentions. Whereas some evidence supports the importance of childhood (i.e., K‐4) informal STEM education experiences, like participating in science camps, existing research does not adequately address their relationship to STEM career intention later in life. Grounding our work in identity research, we tested the predictive power of STEM identity on career intention ( N = 15,847). We found that for every one‐point higher on our STEM identity scale, participants’ odds of choosing a STEM career in college increased by 85%. We then tested whether a variety of childhood informal experiences predicted participants’ STEM identity. While controlling for home environment, gender, and other relevant factors, only talking with friends and family about science, and consuming science and science‐fiction media (i.e., books and television) were predictive of STEM identity in college.

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Gender disparities in STEM begin in childhood.
“Research suggests that gender disparities towards STEM begins in childhood, previous studies have identified a consistent pattern when analyzing gender in technology-related aspects: a small yet statistically significant bias in favor of boys.”
From Fostering students’ motivation and self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and design through design thinking and making in project-based learning: a gender-perspective study in primary education (2025) · cites this paper as Dou et al., 2019
Girls more frequently report engaging in activities like bread-making, knitting, sewing, and planting seeds.
“While girls more frequently report engaging in activities like bread-making, knitting, sewing, and planting seeds.”
From Fostering students’ motivation and self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and design through design thinking and making in project-based learning: a gender-perspective study in primary education (2025) · cites this paper as Dou et al., 2019
Boys tend to report greater extracurricular experience with various technological tools such as batteries, electric toys, fuses, microscopes, and pulleys.
“Previous studies (Jones et al., 2000;Dou et al., 2019) indicate that boys tend to report greater extracurricular experience with various technological tools such as: batteries, electric toys, fuses, microscopes, and pulleys.”
From Fostering students’ motivation and self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and design through design thinking and making in project-based learning: a gender-perspective study in primary education (2025) · cites this paper as Dou et al., 2019
Boys often report more extracurricular experience with electronic tools than girls.
“Additionally, research indicates that boys often report more extracurricular experience with electronic tools (Jones et al., 2000;Dou et al., 2019), which may contribute to differences in confidence levels between genders in subjects such as mathematics, science, and technology (Martínez Moreno et al. 2021;Schaper 2024).”
From Fostering students’ motivation and self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and design through design thinking and making in project-based learning: a gender-perspective study in primary education (2025) · cites this paper as Dou et al., 2019

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Authors: Dou, R., Hazari, Z., Dabney, K., Sonnert, G., & Sadler, P.
Affiliations: Florida International University (US)
Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author: Dou, Remy
Hazari, Zahra
ORCID: Dou, Remy
Hazari, Zahra
Dabney, Katherine
Sonnert, Gerhard
Sadler, Philip
Venue: Science Education
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2019-01-30
Volume: 103
Issue: 3
Pages: 623-637
ISSN: 0036-8326 (ISSN-L)
1098-237X
DOI: 10.1002/sce.21499
OpenAlex: W2911914720
Cited by: 326
References: 53
Citations by year: 2026: 52 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 6
FWCI: 41.50
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#am (am, 365 d)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Science Education (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Science Foundation (1161052)
Topics: Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Science Education and Perceptions
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
Keywords: STEM identity, informal STEM learning, early childhood education

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Early informal STEM experiences and STEM identity: The importance of talking science

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