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Research suggests that elementary school is a crucial period for sparking students' long-term interest in science and consideration of a STEM career. Teachers influence students' dispositions towards science; therefore, it is important to consider elementary teachers' identity development, a preservice teacher's own voice and self-image, with science as a factor in science education. This longitudinal, qualitative study examines the experiences that served as barriers or supports to elementary Master of Teaching preservice teachers' science teacher identity development. Six preservice teachers were interviewed at the beginning of their graduate teacher education programs and again during their first year of teaching. Our findings indicate that identity development of future elementary teachers begins during their own elementary school experiences as a student and spans through their teaching practicums. Barriers to science identity development included prior elementary science experiences/lack of interest, science content and coursework requirements, practicum experiences, and socioeconomic status. Supports that bolster elementary teacher identity for instructing science included hands-on/inquiry-based science coursework, prior experience in schools and working with children, positive practicum experiences, and support from family and friends. This research indicates that in order to develop more rigorous elementary science teacher preparation programs, in regard to instruction and self-efficacy, educators and public policymakers will need to provide a series of supports for future science teachers ranging from their initial elementary school experiences through their practicum placements.

Background: Capturing measures of students' attitudes toward science has long been a focus within the field of science education. The resulting interest has led to the development of many instruments over the years. There is considerable disagreement about how attitudes should be measured, and especially whether students' attitudes toward science can or should be measured unidimensionally, or whether separate attitude dimensions or subscales should be considered. When it is agreed upon that the attitudes toward science construct should be measured along separate subscales, there is no consensus about which subscales should be used. Methods: A streamlined version of the modified Attitudes Towards Science Inventory (mATSI), a widely used science measurement instrument, was validated for a more diverse sample as compared to the original study (Weinburgh and Steele in Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 6:87-94, 2000). The analytical approach used factor analyses and longitudinal measurement invariance. The study used a sample of 2016 self-reported responses from 6 and 7th grade students. The factor analysis elucidated the factor structure of students' attitudes toward science, and some modifications were made in accordance with the results. Measurement invariance analysis was used to confirm the stability of the measure. Results: Our results support that the subscales, "anxiety toward science" and "value and enjoyment of science," are two factors and stable over time. Conclusions: Our results suggest that our proposed modified factor structure for students' attitudes toward science is reliable, valid, and appropriate for use in longitudinal studies. This study and its resulting streamlined mATSI survey could be of value to those interested in studying student engagement and measuring middle-school students' attitudes toward science.

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.

This multiple-case study examined constraints encountered by early career elementary school teachers as they try to deliver high-quality science instruction. Four first-year teachers, who expressed confidence in their preparation and enthusiasm for teaching science, were asked to reflect on the most effective strategies for teaching elementary science and on the constraints to implementing those strategies. Effective strategies for teaching elementary science included inquiry-based instruction and group work with peers, discrepant events, and integration across other subjects and work with student vocabulary. Three categories of constraints emerged related to planning and delivering high-quality science lessons: access to materials and resources, scheduling and prioritizing science instruction, and challenges associated with early career teaching. The findings provide evidence that factors beyond teacher preparation and teacher self-efficacy continue to negatively impact science instruction in elementary classrooms. Promising avenues for future research in science education include more extensive examinations of educational policy, elementary school leaders' perspectives and valuation of teaching science, and strategies for helping teachers advocate for best science teaching practices within their schools.

Do summer laboratory research apprenticeships during high school have an impact on entry into MD/PhD programs? Apart from the nearly decade-long span of time between high school and matriculation into an MD/PhD program, young people have many life-shaping experiences that presumably impact their education and career trajectories. This quantitative study (n = 236,432) examines the connection between early laboratory research apprenticeship experiences at the high school level and matriculation into one of the more rigorous educational programs for scientific research training. The span of time covered by this analysis reaches across more than a decade, examining the potential importance of research experiences during the precollege years in the educational trajectory of young people. Intertwined with this question on research experiences is a second major concern regarding diversity in the life sciences research corps. Diversity in this wide-ranging discipline refers specifically to the underrepresentation of Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latino/as, and American Indians/Alaska Natives among the ranks of research scientists. Thus, this study includes analyses that specifically focus on research apprenticeships of Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latino/as and their entrance into MD/ PhD programs.

Recent research and public policy have indicated the need for increasing the physical science workforce through development of interest and engagement with informal and formal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiences. This study examines the association of family education and physical scientists' informal experiences in science along with the association of informal family science experiences and early initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression analyses. Research questions addressed are as follows: Controlling for demographic variables, do physical scientists parents' level of education associate with participation in informal family science experiences? And which informal family science experiences are associated with physical scientists that report an initial personal interest in science by elementary school? These questions are analyzed with survey data from Project Crossover (N = 4,285), a sequential mixed-methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results indicate that families with higher parental education are more likely to take part in informal science experiences and therefore more likely to provide positive encouragement for their children to develop an early interest in science. Detailed analyses show that the following family forms of informal science education: occupation, diversions and hobbies, and encouragement are associated with an early initial interest in science by elementary school.

Research shows that women are entering the field of physics at a faster rate than the field of chemistry through bachelor's and doctoral degrees. However, STEM studies primarily compare women to men or examine them as a single entity. Therefore, a paucity of research exists that examines what may differentiate women in certain critical and underrepresented fields of STEM education, such as the physical sciences. The focus of this study is to examine differences among women in chemistry in the physical sciences based on background demographics and motivational factors such as academic achievement and experiences ranging from secondary through postsecondary education. This study examines the following research question: "On average, do females who select chemistry as compared to physics doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field?" This question is analyzed using variables in a logistic regression from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). Results show that females who have higher secondary and postsecondary grades and positive experiences in postsecondary chemistry as well as negative postsecondary physics experiences are more likely to enter the field of chemistry as opposed to physics. Therefore, success and experiences in entry-level chemistry courses are critical for female entry into the field and should be further examined. Overall, analyses show that women should not be studied in comparison only to men or as a single entity; they should also be compared to one another to uncover what motivation and background variables influence them to enter a particular field.

The majority of existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research studies compare women to men, yet a paucity of research exists that examines what differentiates female career choice within the physical sciences. In light of these research trends and recommendations, this study examines the following question: On average, do females who select physics as compared to chemistry doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field? This question is analyzed using variables from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). A logistic regression analysis and prototypical odds ratio uncover what differentiates women in the physical sciences based on their academic achievement and experiences ranging from high school through undergraduate education. Results indicate that females who have negative undergraduate chemistry experiences as well as higher grades and positive experiences in undergraduate physics are more likely to pursue a career in physics as opposed to chemistry. Conclusions suggest that a greater emphasis should be placed on the classroom experiences that are provided to females in gateway physics courses. Analyses show that women are not a single entity that should only be examined as a whole group or in comparison to men. Instead women can be compared to one another to see what influences their differences in educational experiences and career choice in STEM-based fields as well as other academic areas of study.

This study addresses the association between middle-school students' reported participation in science summer programmes and their reported expectation of a career in science and engineering. Data were collected on 1,580 students from eight middle schools in five states, applying an accelerated longitudinal design. Two consecutive cohorts were sampled over a two-year period time. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between students' participation in science summer camps and their career interest in science and engineering while initial career interest and background information were considered. Results indicate that students who participated in science summer camps before or in the first year of the study, compared to students who did not, are significantly more likely to report science and engineering as their future career field in the second year of the study. It appears that students who once participated in science summer camps were more likely to later report a career interest in the science and engineering fields.

With recent attention to improving scientific workforce development and student achievement, there has been a rise in effort to understand and encourage student engagement in physical science. This study examines the association of family influence and initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression models. Research questions addressed include Controlling for demographic variables, are physical science doctoral students or scientists who report family as a primary source of interest in science, as opposed to those that do not, more likely to develop an early interest in science? And what specific forms of family support are associated with doctoral students or scientists who report family as a primary source of initial interest in science? The study uses survey data from Project Crossover ("n" = 4,285), a sequential mixed methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results suggest that family interest in science facilitates earlier initial interest in science. Further analyses show that family influence shifts from parental occupation as the primary source of interest for the older generation of scientists to one of three influences (occupation, diversion or hobby, and encouragement) among doctoral students. (Contains 2 tables.)

The underrepresentation of women in physics doctorate programs and in tenured academic positions indicates a need to evaluate what may influence their career choice and persistence. This qualitative paper examines eleven females in physics doctoral programs and professional science positions in order to provide a more thorough understanding of why and how women make career choices based on aspects both inside and outside of school and their subsequent interaction. Results indicate that female physicists experience conflict in achieving balance within their graduate school experiences and personal lives and that this then influences their view of their future careers and possible career choices. Female physicists report both early and long-term support outside of school by family, and later departmental support, as being essential to their persistence within the field. A greater focus on informal and out-of-school science activities for females, especially those that involve family members, early in life may help influence their entrance into a physics career later in life. Departmental support, through advisers, mentors, peers, and women's support groups, with a focus on work-life balance can help females to complete graduate school and persist into an academic career. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

Spurred by concerns about an inadequately sized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, there has been a growing interest in out-of-school time (OST) science activities as a means to foster STEM career interest. This study examines the association between OST science activities and STEM career interest in university through a logistic regression model and the calculation of prototypical odds ratios. The analysis addresses two main research questions: What is the correlation among different forms of OST activities? And, controlling for student demographic and background variables, what specific forms of OST activities are associated with STEM career interest in university? The study uses data from the "Persistence Research in Science and Engineering" survey (n = 6882), which employs a nationally representative sample of university students enrolled in introductory English courses. Results indicate that students' participation in OST activities, as well as their middle school interest in science and mathematics and their gender, plays a significant role in university career interest in STEM. Conclusions suggest that making OST clubs and competitions and the inclusion of non-fiction and science fiction within English Language Arts programmes may be beneficial to the development of students in STEM careers. Limitations include the paucity of research examining which students participate in these activities and what specific features or characteristics benefit them.