Understanding the Impact of STEM College and Career Preparation Programs

Abstract

This qualitative case study examined how participation in the Imagine Your STEM Future (IYSF) program shaped high school students’ and undergraduate mentors’ self-efficacy, STEM identity, and career development following engagement in the AquaSTEM curriculum. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al., 1994), the study explored how mentoring and contextual factors influenced participants’ academic and career-related beliefs. Data were collected through on-on-one interviews with undergraduate mentors, focus groups with high school students, and observations during program implementation. Analysis followed a constant comparative approach, progressing from theory-informed sections to themes grounded in participants’ lived experiences. Findings coalesced into four interconnected themes: mentoring as a catalyst for identity development, development of outcome expectations and future orientation, contextual supports and persistence pathways, and structural barriers shaping access and opportunity. Mentoring facilitated identity exploration for high school students and reinforced identity consolidation for undergraduate mentors. As participants developed STEM identities, they articulated evolving educational and career expectations. Persistence was supported through relational networks, program structures, and culturally grounded supports, while structural barriers, including financial constraints and limited access to institutional knowledge, shaped perceptions of opportunity and feasibility. Implications highlight the importance of culturally responsive mentorship and structured programming in supporting self-efficacy, STEM identity, and career development to help shape their persistence in STEM. Future research should examine longitudinal outcomes and further explore how structural conditions intersect with individual and relational processes in shaping STEM pathways.