Principal Investigator
Tatjana Meschede – Brandeis University
Project Description
FIRST seeks to inspire young people to consider STEM experiences and careers by engaging them in hands-on robotics programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills. The organization worked with a team of researchers from Brandeis University to study associations between participation in programming and STEM-related outcomes.
This is a correlational study reporting on how enrollment in FIRST is associated with a range of STEM-related outcomes ten years after youth initially participated in the program. To conduct the study, researchers compared the outcomes of students who chose to enroll in FIRST with a comparison group who chose not to participate, controlling for potential confounding demographic characteristics.
Research Questions
- How is participation in FIRST associated with students’ STEM interests, attitudes, education pathways, and career outcomes?
- How are students’ FIRST program experiences associated with STEM-related outcomes?
- How do FIRST experiences and outcomes vary across student subgroups?
Key Findings
Students who participated in FIRST reported more positive STEM attitudes and were more likely to declare a STEM-related college major nine years later than demographically similar students who did not enroll in the program. FIRST participants were also more likely to report working in STEM careers after completing college.
Study Citation
Meschede, T., Warfield, M.E., Hoover, M., Haque, Z., Zhang, M., Melchior, A., & Burack, K. (2024). The FIRST Longitudinal Study: 10 Years of Follow-Up Data. The Center for Youth and Communities Report.
The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.
