High school students' and scientists' perceptions of a student-scientist partnership

The idea of getting high school students to work with scientists has become a hot topic. There have been many programs that get students involved with scientists to gain experience. Having students work with scientists allows students to practice authentic science. These programs also aim to get more students interested in science and hopefully inspire these students to go into a science career. Researchers have looked at several aspects during these interactions. These aspects include students' interest, students' ability, students' career choice and students' perceptions of the scientific community. However, few studies are known that include trying to understand students' and scientists' perceptions of a student-scientist partnership. In this study 54 students and nine science professionals were interviewed about benefits and obstacles they may face during this program. These interviews will then be analyzed to see similarities and differences between high school students and scientists. The analysis of these interviews can lead to making improvements for future student-scientist partnerships.