A contextual perspective on talented female participants and their development in extracurricular STEM programs. Issue 1 (21st July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Stoeger, Heidrun; Schirner, Sigrun; Laemmle, Lena; Obergriesser, Stefanie; Heilemann, Michael; Ziegler, Albert
• Other Names: Worrell Frank C. guestEditor.; Beghetto Ronald A. guestEditor.; Renzulli Joseph guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Volume 1377:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 53
• Page End: 66
• Publication Date: 2016-07-21
• Subjects: STEM -- mentoring -- participation rates -- talented girls -- giftedness research; Medical sciences -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals; 610
• DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13116
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0077-8923

Abstract

Abstract : We advocate a more contextual perspective in giftedness research. In our view, doing so opens up three particularly interesting research areas, which we refer to as the participation issue, the effectiveness issue, and the interaction issue. To illustrate their utility, we examined characteristics of females participating in German high achiever–track secondary education who had applied for participation in a 1‐year extracurricular e‐mentoring program in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) ( n = 1237). Their characteristics were compared with male and female random‐sample control groups. We assessed the effectiveness of the mentoring program by comparing the developmental trajectories of program participants with those of three control groups: applicants who were randomly chosen for later participation (waiting‐list control group) and a female and a male control group. Finally, we examined whether differences in program effectiveness could be partially explained by characteristics of the interaction with the domain. Program applicants possessed more advantageous individual characteristics but, unexpectedly, less advantageous home and school environments than female and male members of the control groups. Program participation affected positive changes in certainty about career goals (independent of STEM) and in the number of STEM activities. The amount of STEM communication partially explained differences in program effectiveness.