Abstract
The 4-H Science: Building a 4-H Career Pathway Initiative was a 3-year collaboration among National 4-H Council, Lockheed Martin, and state 4-H grantees to help more than 50,000 youth in 13 states develop STEM and workforce skills for STEM professions. A mixed-methods design used observations and interviews to assess program quality. Researchers observed 4-H STEM programming and conducted individual and focus group interviews with youth, parents, community volunteers, corporate volunteers, and professionals. Observations were conducted using a validated observational tool, the Out-of-School Time (OST) Observation Instrument with STEM Plug-In. This instrument measured youth relationship building, youth participation, staff relationship building, staff instructional strategies, activity content and structure, and STEM instruction. Findings from the observations and interviews were combined to assess program quality. Sites scoring highest on the OST Observation Instrument reported using quality STEM curriculum, especially National 4-H Youth Science Day lessons. The 4-H STEM programs demonstrated highly evident and consistent youth relationship building (e.g., being friendly and collaborative) and youth participation (e.g.., contributing ideas and taking leadership). Yet, in many cases, STEM youth skill development (e.g., drawing connections to real-world concepts) and STEM staff instructional practices (e.g., discussing how youth could pursue STEM content through their education and/or career) were inconsistent and rarely evident. Recommendations include substantive professional and volunteer development for both STEM competencies and enhanced youth development. The OST Observation Instrument with STEM Plug-In provided a comprehensive tool to evaluate program quality, and it is recommended for use in evaluating other 4-H STEM programs.
Highlights
Out-of-school time (OST) STEM learning has the potential to address shortages in science fields by helping youth understand the connection between STEM activities and future careers
This phase is characterized by engineers teaching youth in two STEM programs: Engineers in the Classroom (EITC), a Lockheed Martin effort to reach youth with STEM education, and National Youth Science Day (NYSD), a 4-H activity to enrich science literacy among youth
Observed 4-H STEM programs were similar in that they provided hands-on activities that were youth-driven with guidance from professionals, corporate volunteers, and community volunteers
Summary
4-H is one of the national leaders of OST STEM learning (National Informal STEM Education Network, 2015). The program concept drew on several recommendations from Riley and Butler’s (2012) national review of eight promising 4-H science programs, : involving science experts to lead and advise local programming and developing program activities to expose youth to science careers In this project, the science experts were corporate volunteers providing their time and expertise in local 4-H STEM programs. The first phase, explore, involves youth in introductory, short-term STEM projects focused in underrepresented communities This phase is characterized by engineers (corporate volunteers) teaching youth in two STEM programs: Engineers in the Classroom (EITC), a Lockheed Martin effort to reach youth with STEM education, and National Youth Science Day (NYSD), a 4-H activity to enrich science literacy among youth. The third phase, practice, is composed of long-term, rigorous projects to build both STEM and leadership skills in preparation for a college STEM major In this phase, corporate volunteers provide ongoing coaching and guidance to youth either virtually or in-person. The central question guiding this research was: What do we know about the program quality of 4-H Science: Building A 4-H Career Pathway Initiative programs? Related questions were: How do the 4-H STEM programs perform in terms of youth relationship building, youth participation, staff relationship building, staff instructional strategies, and activity content and structure?
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