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Background <p>The number of makerspaces in the world has been doubling approximately every 18 months, yet research has focused primarily on STEM skill development rather than on the potential of makerspaces to shape STEM affinity and help close the STEM gender gap. Grounded in Situated Expectancy-Value Theory, this study examined the relationship between high school makerspace experiences and two dimensions of college STEM affinity—STEM identity and STEM career interest—with particular attention to gender as a moderator.</p> Methods <p>Using a stratified national random sample of 15,725 first-year college students across 119 U.S. institutions, we employed inverse probability of treatment weighting with propensity scores to control for pre-treatment characteristics including prior STEM career interest, academic performance, and demographic factors. We estimated weighted linear regression models for STEM identity and weighted logistic regression models for STEM career interest, each with gender interaction terms, followed by post-hoc comparisons of gender gaps across participation levels.</p> Results <p>Makerspace participation was associated with substantial STEM identity gains for both genders, with the gender gap narrowing significantly for occasional participants (66% reduction, becoming statistically non-significant), though the pattern was less consistent for frequent participants. In stark contrast, frequent makerspace participation showed a significant positive relationship with STEM career interest only among men (Frequent × Men: β = 0.89, OR = 2.44, <i>p</i> = 0.002), while women’s predicted career interest remained essentially flat across participation levels. This resulted in a 137% widening of the gender gap in STEM career interest from non-participants to frequent participants. Sensitivity analyses using E-values indicated that these findings are robust to potential unmeasured confounding.</p> Conclusions <p>While makerspaces appear effective at building STEM identity across genders, they do not translate into a strengthened STEM career interest for women—a disconnect that may reflect both structural barriers (male-dominated workplace cultures, persistent stereotypes) and psychological barriers (lower self-efficacy and diminished expectations for career success despite comparable achievement). These findings call for a shift from simply building more makerspaces to complementing them with intentional career exploration components—such as mentorship from women STEM professionals and explicit discussions of workplace barriers—that help women translate their strengthened STEM identities into career commitments.</p>

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High school makerspace experience and college STEM affinity: building STEM identity across genders but advancing STEM career interest only for men

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月2日

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  • Chen Chen,
  • Yuhan Li,
  • Gerhard Sonnert,
  • Sherry Lassiter,
  • Jiaojiao Hui,
  • Susan Sunbury,
  • Philip Sadler

摘要

Background

The number of makerspaces in the world has been doubling approximately every 18 months, yet research has focused primarily on STEM skill development rather than on the potential of makerspaces to shape STEM affinity and help close the STEM gender gap. Grounded in Situated Expectancy-Value Theory, this study examined the relationship between high school makerspace experiences and two dimensions of college STEM affinity—STEM identity and STEM career interest—with particular attention to gender as a moderator.

Methods

Using a stratified national random sample of 15,725 first-year college students across 119 U.S. institutions, we employed inverse probability of treatment weighting with propensity scores to control for pre-treatment characteristics including prior STEM career interest, academic performance, and demographic factors. We estimated weighted linear regression models for STEM identity and weighted logistic regression models for STEM career interest, each with gender interaction terms, followed by post-hoc comparisons of gender gaps across participation levels.

Results

Makerspace participation was associated with substantial STEM identity gains for both genders, with the gender gap narrowing significantly for occasional participants (66% reduction, becoming statistically non-significant), though the pattern was less consistent for frequent participants. In stark contrast, frequent makerspace participation showed a significant positive relationship with STEM career interest only among men (Frequent × Men: β = 0.89, OR = 2.44, p = 0.002), while women’s predicted career interest remained essentially flat across participation levels. This resulted in a 137% widening of the gender gap in STEM career interest from non-participants to frequent participants. Sensitivity analyses using E-values indicated that these findings are robust to potential unmeasured confounding.

Conclusions

While makerspaces appear effective at building STEM identity across genders, they do not translate into a strengthened STEM career interest for women—a disconnect that may reflect both structural barriers (male-dominated workplace cultures, persistent stereotypes) and psychological barriers (lower self-efficacy and diminished expectations for career success despite comparable achievement). These findings call for a shift from simply building more makerspaces to complementing them with intentional career exploration components—such as mentorship from women STEM professionals and explicit discussions of workplace barriers—that help women translate their strengthened STEM identities into career commitments.