University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

“Uncover[ing] the precious potential in every child”: The effects of a STEM pre-college program on former participants’ academic and career trajectories

Simpson, Amari Tevell

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116018

Description

Title
“Uncover[ing] the precious potential in every child”: The effects of a STEM pre-college program on former participants’ academic and career trajectories
Author(s)
Simpson, Amari Tevell
Issue Date
2022-07-12
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Baber, Lorenzo
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
  • Trent, William T
  • Hood, Denice
Committee Member(s)
Zamani-Gallaher, Eboni
Department of Study
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Discipline
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • STEM
  • STEM pre-college program
  • IPA
  • PVEST
  • qualitative research
Abstract
Little is known about how former participants of STEM pre-college programs make sense of their program experiences. These pre-collegiate experiences influence former participants’ academic, career, and life trajectories even if participants did not continue on STEM-related studies or careers. We investigated the experiences of former participants of STEM pre-college programs to understand the long-term effects of these programs using a qualitative research design, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), and phenomenological variant of ecological systems theoretical approach (PVEST). Single-person, semi-structured interviews with former participants of STEM pre-college programs provided insight and perspectives about their experiences. Former participants expressed that their STEM pre-college program provided them the space to overcome self-limitations, be seen, value community, and exposure to STEM resources as foundational to their STEM academic and life outcomes. When designing and implementing STEM pre-college programs tailored to engaging racially underrepresented K-12 students, these findings provide STEM PCP stakeholders a novel approach to uncover information on programming effects long-term.
Graduation Semester
2022-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2022 Amari Tevell Simpson

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