A LAB of Her Own: A Phenomenological Study of a Student Lab Assistant Research Program and Its Impact on Female High School Participant

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 implores educators to increase female access to and involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs in order to improve the diversity of the STEM workforce. Within the literature, it is suggested females who have access to pre-collegiate STEM opportunities are more likely to matriculate in collegiate STEM degree programs. This phenomenological study evaluated the experiences of five female college students who participated in a Student Lab Assistant Research Program (LAB) during high school. To elicit information about the impact of the LAB on female students' beliefs and interests in STEM, each student engaged in interviews following Seidman's three-interview series framework. Data was coded and analyzed using Moustakas' modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data. Analysis of data resulted in two core themes emerging as impactful components of the LAB including active learning with real world applications and opportunities for skills acquisition and influential relationships altering perceptions and science attitudes. Findings align with environmental, behavioral, and personal variables known to positively affect choice behaviors as described by Lent, Brown, and Hackett's Social Cognitive Career Theory. Participation in the LAB positively contributed to female students' choice to major in STEM degree programs in college. This study offers suggestions for implementation of the LAB in a traditional high school setting. Further research is needed on the lasting impact of the LAB and other pre-collegiate STEM opportunities as viable nontraditional science programs with potential to plumb the leaky STEM pipeline.