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STEM “On-the-Job”: The Role of Summer Youth Employment Programs in the STEM Learning Ecosystem

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Publicado en:Education Sciences vol. 15, no. 8 (2025), p. 1061-1081
Autor principal: Thomas, Akiva
Otros Autores: Delale-O’Connor Lori, Thurston, Emily
Publicado:
MDPI AG
Materias:
National Research Council
United States > US
Collaboration
Youth employment
Careers
Funding
STEM education
Social exclusion
Young adults
Research methodology
Schools
Workforce
Experimental methods
Violent crime
Learning
School Effectiveness
Summer Programs
After School Programs
Control Groups
Influence of Technology
Addition
Crime
Interpersonal Competence
Figurative Language
Evidence
Success
College Freshmen
Adults
School Policy
Student Motivation
Employment Programs
Labor Force Development
Social Capital
Opportunities
School Holding Power
College Programs
Learner Engagement
Individual Needs
Career Readiness
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Resumen:Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) operate in most major U.S. cities and are known to build social–emotional and job skills in youth while reducing crime. Integrating STEM learning and summer employment offers a promising way to increase youth engagement in STEM—and allow leaders to access funding not typically used for education. Using a connected learning framework, we examined how STEM-focused SYEPs support STEM pathways, the practices they implement, and their connections with schools. Our study explored 10 diverse STEM programs (e.g., robotics, renewable energy, coding) within a citywide employment initiative in summer 2015. Through 22 staff interviews and focus groups with 59 youth, we found that these programs provided meaningful and engaging STEM experiences. They combined interest-driven exploration with hands-on, real-world learning in supportive environments. Many included mentors from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. While collaboration with schools was generally limited to recruitment and shared facilities, opportunities for deeper partnerships were evident. Our findings led to a list of ten promising practices for STEM-focused SYEPs. This study underscores the importance of lifelong, lifewide, and connected approaches to STEM learning through summer employment initiatives.
ISSN:2227-7102
2076-3344
DOI:10.3390/educsci15081061
Fuente:Education Database