Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program

Dagmar M. Heeg; Theila Smith; Lucy Avraamidou

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11888

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Dagmar M. Heeg ¹ , Theila Smith ¹ , Lucy Avraamidou ¹ ^*

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¹ Institute for Science Education and Communication, University of Groningen, Groningen, THE NETHERLANDS^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The goal of this case study was to examine how a group of young children in a historically marginalized neighborhood in the northern part of the Netherlands perceived their engagement in an out-of-school, STEM community-based program aiming to enhance young children’s interest and self-identification with science. We collected data through semi-structured interviews with eight purposefully selected children and analyzed those through a constant comparative approach and with the use of open coding strategies. The findings revealed specific aspects of the design of the program that were perceived as motivating and engaging: the integrated multidisciplinary approach to exploring scientific concepts and opportunities for active engagement and personally relevant science experimentation. The findings are offered alongside a set of recommendations for the design of out-of-school, community-based programs that aim to support young children’s engagement with science.

Keywords

out-of-school science
children
self-identification with science

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 18, Issue 4, April 2022, Article No: em2091

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

Publication date: 09 Mar 2022

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Disclosure

Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

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How to cite this article

APA

Heeg, D. M., Smith, T., & Avraamidou, L. (2022). Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(4), em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

Vancouver

Heeg DM, Smith T, Avraamidou L. Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2022;18(4):em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

AMA

Heeg DM, Smith T, Avraamidou L. Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2022;18(4), em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

Chicago

Heeg, Dagmar M., Theila Smith, and Lucy Avraamidou. "Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2022 18 no. 4 (2022): em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

Harvard

Heeg, D. M., Smith, T., and Avraamidou, L. (2022). Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(4), em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888

MLA

Heeg, Dagmar M. et al. "Children’s Experiences and Self-Identification with Science in the Context of an Out-of-School STEM Program". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 18, no. 4, 2022, em2091. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11888