Math Girls Rock! is a year-long, two-tiered mathematics mentoring program that prepares female undergraduate mentors to facilitate high school girls' engagement in challenging mathematics concepts through a dynamic after-school program. In this article, we describe the distinct educational component of this program in which female faculty members…

Background: Adolescent girls are at an increased risk of low physical activity and the associated health consequences. Girls Can Move!, an after-school intervention guided by social cognitive theory, was designed to increase physical activity. Purpose: To examine the feasibility and initial effectiveness of Girls Can Move! Methods The 8-week…

What affect does female participation in the Training Future Scientist (TFS) program based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Maslow's Hierarchies of Needs have on achievement levels in science and their attitude toward science and interest in science-based careers? The theoretical framework for this study was developed through a…

Over the past fifty years, women in the United States have made great strides in education and in entry into the workforce. However, despite these advances, women continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Women's representation is lower than men's at most levels of STEM. This level of…

Purpose: The aim of this research was to analyze change of STEM career choices of female students having different cognitive styles who participated in out-of-school STEM activities. Socio-economically disadvantaged, high academic achiever 20 female students participated in the research. Participants received integrated STEM training for six days…

This study explores how an afterschool science program for girls that uses a curriculum written by female scientists/science educators and highlights the contributions of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields affects girls' perception of scientists, confidence in their science skills, belief in their ability to…

Student-scientist-teacher interactions provide students with several advantages. They provide opportunities to interact with experts and professionals in the field, give students a chance at meeting a role model that may impact students' career choices, and increase awareness of available career options combined with an understanding of how their…

Children's poor social-emotional functioning has been an increasing concern prior to and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Childhood and adolescence are critical stages of life where they acquire key cognitive and social-emotional skills that shape their future mental health. When a student's social-emotional health suffers, so do their relationships,…

More and more jobs involve STEM, yet women are still underrepresented in many STEM fields, particularly engineering and computer science (National Science Foundation, 2019). Rural students in particular have historically faced numerous obstacles to entering STEM fields, including low educational aspirations, lack of STEM role models, and lack of…

Service-learning opportunities provide students with valuable professional experience beyond training and practical skills. In a pilot study of Criminal Justice students enrolled in an undergraduate Homeland Security class, student volunteers report opportunities for practicing leadership at an after-school program. Responses were also compared to…

Background: After-school approaches offer a viable solution to the current challenge of physical inactivity among many adolescents; however, availability, cost, transportation, and interest limit many youths' choices during non-school hours [Roth, Brooks-Gunn, Murray, and Foster 2003. "Youth Development Programs: Risk, Prevention and…

This qualitative study draws from an after-school service project conducted by three research professors located in the Southeastern United States. Students from a local Boys and Girls Club were given an opportunity to participate in an integrated literacy, science, and mathematics program. The program was geared towards African American students…

This research sought to uncover challenges that arose in the implementation of the Reflective Educational Approach to Character and Health (REACH) after-school programme in a low-income public school in New York City. Additionally, we wanted to find and share some of the lessons learned, to help others avoid our pitfalls when implementing quality…

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative…

"Making" as an educational approach holds promise both for introducing mentors into STEM programming and for showing girls new pathways into STEM (Wittemyer & Gill, 2014). With its merger of cutting-edge technology and traditional arts and crafts, "Making" can help girls learn about electronics, robotics, metalwork,…