Undergraduate STEM Students’ Science Communication Skills, Science Identity, and Science Self-Efficacy Influence Their Motivations and Behaviors in STEM Community Engagement
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
Scientists engaging in the community
STEM students engaging in the community
Measuring community engagement
Construct | Scale items | Reference(s) | Cronbach's alpha in our study population |
---|---|---|---|
Motivations for STEM community engagement (more external) | Scale 1: How important is engaging with your local community in STEM engagement or outreach activities… …in furthering your individual growth as a scientist? …in your individual connection to your community? …to your university as a whole? …to your university department? …to your future employers? | 5, 17 | 0.789 |
Motivations for STEM community engagement (more internal) | Scale 2: How important is each objective when engaging with local community in STEM engagement activities? • Connecting with members of your community in a shared experience. • Increasing individuals' confidence and excitement in engaging with science topics and spaces. • Practicing presenting your scientific findings to increase your individual confidence in science. • Collaborating and communicating with community members. • Increasing trust in the scientific community. • Engaging in a discussion about a position or viewpoint to learn what individuals think about certain issues. • Informing the public about scientific issues. • Improving science communication skills. | 5, 17 | 0.818 |
Venues for STEM community engagement | Scale 3: In which ways and how often do you engage with your local community in STEM engagement activities? • As a curricular, class assignment. • As an extracurricular through a student organization. • Through a college department as an extracurricular. • Through volunteering with a local nonprofit or governmental agency. • Through a religious organization. | 18–21 | 0.818 |
Frequency of STEM community engagement | Scale 4: Overall, how often do you engage with your local community in STEM engagement or outreach activities? | NAa | |
Science self-efficacy | Rate your agreement with these statements: • I feel confident in my ability to be successfμL in my science courses. • I feel capable I can apply the skills learned in my classes to real-life situations. • I feel confident that I can develop technical science skills. | 28 | 0.82 |
Science networking and communication | Rate your agreement with these statements: • I feel confident I can communicate scientific knowledge to my peers. • I feel capable of communicating scientific knowledge to nonscientist community members. • Discussing science with others increases my confidence as a scientist. | Based on 23 | 0.755 |
Science identity | Rate your agreement with these statements: • I have a place in the scientific community. • I consider myself a “scientist.” • The scientific community accepts me. • The scientific community values my role and knowledge as a community member outside of science. • Taking part in community engagement strengthens my identity as a scientist. | 28 | 0.892 |
Demographics | NA |
What factors may influence STEM students engaging in the community?

METHODS
Survey creation
Survey distribution
Major | No. of students |
---|---|
Animal and Equine Sciences | 1 |
Soil and Crop Sciences | 1 |
Biomedical Engineering | 5 |
Chemical and Biological Engineering | 1 |
Civil and Environmental Engineering | 1 |
Electrical and Computer Engineering | 1 |
Mechanical Engineering | 1 |
Ecosystem Science and Sustainability | 3 |
Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology | 7 |
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | 16 |
Biology | 22 |
Chemistry | 3 |
Physics | 2 |
Psychology | 1 |
Zoology | 21 |
Biomedical Sciences | 19 |
Category | Demographic | No. with response (N = 110) |
---|---|---|
Gender identity | Man | 18 |
Woman | 86 | |
Nonbinary | 5 | |
Prefer not to say | 1 | |
Race and/or ethnicity | Asian American or Pacific Islander | 3 |
Latino/Latinx or Hispanic | 8 | |
White | 88 | |
Multiracial or multiple selected | 9 | |
Prefer not to say | 2 | |
Academic progress | 1st year | 24 |
2nd year | 20 | |
3rd year | 37 | |
4th year | 16 | |
5th year | 9 | |
Other | 4 |
Statistical analysis
RESULTS
Parameter | Scale 1 | Scale 2 | Scale 3 | Scale 4 | Science communication | Science self-efficacy | Science identity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | 3.536 | 3.883 | 2.889 | 2.63889 | 4.10 | 4.088 | 3.616 |
SD | 0.723 | 0.583 | 0.601 | 1.32072 | 0.737 | 0.800 | 0.736 |

Predictor | Parameter | Scale 3, community engagement venues | Scale 4, community engagement frequency |
---|---|---|---|
Scale 1, external motivations for community engagement | Slope | 0.4880 | 0.4889 |
F | 49.68 | 7.561 | |
df | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | |
P value | <0.0001 | 0.0070 | |
R squared | 0.3151 | 0.06543 | |
Scale 2, internal motivations for community engagement | Slope | 0.6844 | 0.5965 |
F | 84.77 | 8.018 | |
df | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | |
P value | <0.0001 | 0.0055 | |
R squared | 0.4397 | 0.06911 |
Predictor | Parameter | Scale 1 | Scale 2 | Scale 3 | Scale 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year of academic progress | Slope | −0.2189 | −0.1616 | −0.09744 | −0.02832 |
F | 17.70 | 13.22 | 4.122 | 0.07151 | |
DFn, DFd | 1, 104 | 1, 104 | 1, 104 | 1, 104 | |
P value | <0.0001 | 0.0004 | 0.0449 | 0.7897 | |
R squared | 0.1454 | 0.1128 | 0.03813 | 0.0006872 |
Predictor | Parameter | Scale 1 | Scale 2 | Scale 3 | Scale 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Science communication | Slope | 0.2858 | 0.2765 | 0.3467 | 0.4976 |
F | 11.05 | 15.07 | 23.82 | 9.012 | |
df | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | |
P value | 0.0012 | 0.0002 | <0.0001 | 0.0033 | |
R squared | 0.0928 | 0.1225 | 0.1807 | 0.07701 | |
Science identity | Slope | 0.2270 | 0.1821 | 0.1898 | 0.6786 |
F | 6.688 | 6.029 | 6.157 | 17.97 | |
df | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | |
P value | 0.011 | 0.0157 | 0.0146 | <0.0001 | |
R squared | 0.05831 | 0.05287 | 0.05393 | 0.1426 | |
Science self-efficacy | Slope | 0.1853 | 0.2422 | 0.2942 | 0.4819 |
F | 5.195 | 13.42 | 19.54 | 10.04 | |
df | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | 1, 108 | |
P value | 0.0246 | 0.0004 | <0.0001 | 0.0020 | |
R squared | 0.0459 | 0.1105 | 0.1532 | 0.08503 |
DISCUSSION
Key findings of the study
Limitations
Implications for undergraduate STEM education
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES
Information & Contributors
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