STEM Heroes: A Narrative-based Intervention to Increase Self-Efficacy and Interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in Elementary School-aged Children

Over time, researchers have struggled to identify effective interventions to support girls’ self-efficacy and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether a theoretically-grounded narrative-based intervention would be able to increase elementary school-aged girls’ self-efficacy in respect to future careers and interest in STEM subjects in school. The study sought to do this by using the stories of the “Heroes of STEM”, a series of four graphic novels developed by the principal researcher, as an intervention tool linking girls’ typically preferred subject (i.e., reading, language arts) to math and science. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used for the current study. The participants included 4th and 5th grade girls who attended after-care programs in Central New Jersey. The results of the study indicated: (a) that the narrative-based intervention (i.e., the graphic novels) did not affect self-efficacy in STEM careers in the present sample of elementary school-aged girls, (b) that the narrative-based intervention did not affect interest in STEM subjects in school in elementary school-aged girls, and (c) there was not a significant change in girls’ perceptions of who can and cannot be considered members of the scientific community as explored through a pre- and post-intervention drawing task. The non-significant findings of this study impress upon the need to continue to explore effective intervention tools for young girls. They also anecdotally suggest a need for materials similar to the graphic novels that were used in the study as that several of the participants indicated a desire to personally own the stories they were presented with