What is STEM Career Interest

Inspiring learners toward career options available in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is important not only for economic development but also for maintaining creative thinking and innovation. Limited amounts of research in STEM education have focused on the population of students enrolled in religious and parochial schools in urban settings; yet given the historic conflict between religion and science, this large sector of American education is worthy of examination. This chapter incorporates Gottfredson's Theory of Circumscription and Compromise as it relates to occupational aspirations, Bem's Gender Schema Theory to explain the role of gender in career expectations, and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Theory as it pertains to religion and urban location as group identifiers. Practical interventions for encouraging young students to consider STEM careers are discussed.