EPAA/AAPE is a peer-reviewed, open-access, international, multilingual, and multidisciplinary journal designed for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and development analysts concerned with education policies. EPAA/AAPE accepts unpublished original manuscripts in English, Spanish and Portuguese without restriction as to conceptual and methodological perspectives, time or place. EPAA/AAPE publishes issues comprised of empirical articles, commentaries, and special issues at roughly weekly intervals, all of which pertain to educational policy, with direct implications for educational policy.
Michael A Gottfried Assistant Professor
Loyola Marymount University United States
Michael A. Gottfried, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. His current research agenda pertains to the effect of schooling contexts, peer effects, outcomes for underrepresented student populations, and STEM learning, coursework, and non-formal experiences.
Darryl Williams Associate Dean
Tufts University United States
Darryl N. Williams, PhD, is Associate Dean of Recruitment, Retention, and Community Engagement for Tufts University's School of Engineering. He holds a secondary appointment as a research associate professor in chemical and biological engineering focusing on nanobiotechology research. Serving as the director of the Center for STEM Diversity, he is deeply involved in engineering education research with emphasis on learning environments that foster and sustain student-driven innovation and the recruitment, retention, and engagement of students from underrepresented groups in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
STEM Club Participation and STEM Schooling Outcomes
Michael A Gottfried, Darryl Williams
Abstract
To develop a more robust understanding of the relationship between non-formal, school-based STEM activities and students’ success and persistence in STEM fields, this study evaluates how math club participation influences math GPA and how science club participation influences science GPA. Additionally, this study evaluates how math or science club participation associates with the probability of selecting a STEM major in college. Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine these relationships, the results suggest that there is a STEM achievement gap in the success and persistence of students who do and do not participate in STEM-related extracurricular clubs. While, for the most part, the results were not differentiated by gender or race/ethnicity per se, they were in fact distinguishable by poverty status and the interaction between race and poverty status.