This study shows that a short, 3-day intervention can make a positive impact on young female youths’ perceptions of STEM, pro-social attitudes, creative confidence, and career pathways. It does this by creating a “hook” or stimulating interest among youths to have a more favorable opinion about working in STEM.
The study’s second finding is that persistent gender norms are hard to overturn and require additional interventions.
Third, this study offers strong evidence of the positive impact of a design thinking curriculum on female youths’ interest in STEM. The findings suggest that girls not only changed their perception of STEM subjects but also exhibited greater empathy and felt an increased sense of belonging in STEM as a result of participating in the workshop.
In addition, the design thinking approach used in this study increased the participants’ creative confidence, their empathy, and their pro-social tendencies.