<p>Science, Technology, Engineering
and Math (STEM) are at the forefront of conversations in education, not only in
Indiana, but across the country. This conversation is crossing boundaries from
primary and secondary education, to academia, to government agencies, to
industry. The inherent focus on STEM comes from an understanding of the
impending job shortage in STEM jobs in the next decades. In the discipline of
fluid power, the gap between education and industry with jobs is not easy to
see because while the gap is known by industry experts there is a lack of
literature documenting the gap. Most education is focused on the university
level and preparation, and little effort is focused on gaining the interest of
students in a K-12 education. </p>
<p> Through a
partnership between Indiana 4-H, Purdue Polytechnic and the National Fluid
Power Association, the creation of the 4-H NFPA Fluid Power Challenge was
created to bridge the gap not only in STEM education through 4-H STEM
programming, but to also give youth an opportunity to learn more about STEM and
fluid power careers through this eight-week opportunity. The program focuses on
collecting data on career interest, STEM attitudes, and fluid power interest.
The focus of this dissertation is on the relationships between students
participating in the 4-H NFPA fluid power challenge, years of participation,
gender with career, STEM attitudes, and fluid power interest. </p>
Gender
and participation were two areas in which significant relationships were found
in the data set. The relationship between the two as long as the relationship
between before and after participation and career interest creates a picture
that both answers the research questions posed in this dissertation, but also
links to other research in this area on the matters of gender and STEM interest
and careers. This study also highlights the importance of a focus on fluid
power, and the impact that is seen specifically in sustained experiences in
females who participate in Fluid Power programs. <br>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/7430003 |
| Date | 16 January 2019 |
| Creators | Erika D. Bonnett (5929529) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/The_Use_of_Sustained_Experience_in_4-H_Fluid_Power_Education_to_Influence_STEM_Perception_in_Middle_School_Youth/7430003 |
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