Impact of femalized kinesthetic learning model on African American middle school girls’ career interest.

AbstractEngaging African American middle school girls in out-of-school-time (OST) Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) programs can boost interest in male-dominated AEC careers. This study adopts Lent’s Social Cognitive Career Theory to evaluate the impact of an OST feminized AEC kinesthetic learning model (fAEC-KLM) on the career interests of this demographic. Through a qualitative research approach, fourteen (14) African American middle school girls from Guilford County, NC, completed pre- and post-interviews on how fAEC-KLM interactions influenced their AEC career interests. Inductive thematic analysis was carried out on transcribed interviews. Results show that effective components, such as lectures on AEC, bridge construction projects, and peer interactions, had the greatest impact on AEC career interest. Also, positive interactions among career-relevant self-attributes, informal pre-intervention Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning experiences, math abilities, and feminized AEC kinesthetic activities likely increase AEC interests. Findings further reveal that the intersection of research participants’ gender and racial identities shaped how they interpreted and engaged with these learning experiences, influencing their sense of belonging and subsequent AEC career interests. Three career interest patterns explain how varied model interactions impact career interests. These findings can guide the design and implementation of future OST programs to enhance AEC career interests among African American middle school girls.