The Role of a Summer Field Experience in Fostering STEM Students' Socioemotional Perceptions and Social Justice Awareness as Preparation for a STEM Teaching Career

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

This study examines how an undergraduate teacher exploration program for STEM majors contributes to STEM teacher education and recruitment. Using journal data from 126 undergraduates participating in a four-day immersive internship in Summer 2015 and Summer 2016, the research analyzes growth in socioemotional perceptions and social justice awareness. Field placements occurred at high-need middle and high schools in Los Angeles. Findings describe improved student-relating insights, caring and compassion, positive relationship building, accommodating varying capabilities, and peer support, alongside experiential understandings of equity, assets, privilege recognition, advocacy, and activism.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study context and rationale

Science literacy and skepticism

Teacher workforce need in STEM

Recruitment and retention challenges

Internship design and setting

Four-day immersive internships (2015-2016)

High-need middle and high schools in Los Angeles

Outcomes and findings

Socioemotional perceptions

Social justice awareness

UC Berkeley Berkeley Review of Education Title The Role of a Summer Field Experience in Fostering STEM Students' Socioemotional Perceptions and Social Justice Awareness as Preparation for a Science Teaching Career Permalink [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7kg400hd](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7kg400hd) Journal Berkeley Review of Education, 9(2) Authors Liu, Amy Toma, Shannon Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc et al. Publication Date 2020 DOI 10.5070/B89244648 Peer reviewed [eScholarship.org](eScholarship.org) Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Available online at [http://eScholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre](http://eScholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre) The Role of a Summer Field Experience in Fostering STEM Undergraduates’ Socioemotional Perceptions and Social Justice Awareness as Preparation for a STEM Teaching Career Amy Liu, 1 Shannon Toma, Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, and Arlene A. Russell University of California, Los Angeles Abstract This study aimed to better understand the role that an undergraduate teacher exploration program for STEM majors played in STEM teacher education and recruitment. Utilizing journal data from 126 undergraduate students engaged in an intensive and immersive four-day internship that took place in Summer 2015 and Summer 2016, this study examined how the program’s field experience developed students’ socioemotional perceptions and social justice awareness. The field experiences took place at high-need middle and high schools in Los Angeles. With respect to socioemotional perceptions, findings show that STEM undergraduates who participated in the internship demonstrated insight about relating one-on-one with students, being caring and compassionate, establishing positive relationships, accommodating varying capabilities, and witnessing students and teachers supporting each other. Regarding social justice, participants expressed experiential understanding related to equity of learning opportunities, asset-based interpretive frames, recognition of privilege, and advocacy and activism. The field experiences allowed the STEM undergraduates to more deeply appreciate the importance of connecting with students, developing positive and constructive relationships with them, and reflecting on educational inequities confronting schools and students—a valuable foundation of teacher preparation for those who may choose to pursue a formal social justice-oriented teacher education program. Keywords: field experiences, teacher education preparation, social justice, socioemotional learning, recruitment and retention, science teacher education Contemporary public skepticism regarding topics where there is robust scientific consensus—such as evolution, vaccinations, and climate change—call into question the health of our nation’s scientific literacy (Beck, 2015) . Lest we become a nation of 1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amy Liu, Center for Educational Assessment, University of California, Los Angeles, 190 Powell Library, Box 951515, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1515. E-mail: [amy.liu@ucla.edu](amy.liu@ucla.edu) Berkeley Review of Education Vol. 9 No. 2 Liu, Toma, Levis-Fitzgerald & Russell Summer Field Experience scientific disbelievers, the urgency for greater science education and literacy across all educational levels is high. Rather than merely relying on experts to counter denials of science, a goal of science educators is to advocate for the cultural and social values of science itself to develop our national science literacy and appreciation for scientific inquiry (DeBoer, 2000) . Scientists have noted the importance of creating a “culture of science” and generating “excitement and passion about the scientific enterprise”(HydeKeller, 2017, para. 12) . At the front lines of any educational imperative are our nation’s teachers. We need a strong workforce prepared to teach in the fields of science, technology, e

FAQs

What does the study investigate about STEM undergraduates’ internship experiences?

It examines how an undergraduate teacher exploration program shapes students’ socioemotional perceptions and social justice awareness, informing STEM teacher education and recruitment.

When and where did the field experiences take place?

The four-day immersive internships occurred in Summer 2015 and Summer 2016, at high-need middle and high schools in Los Angeles.

Which socioemotional outcomes did participants demonstrate after the internship?

Participants showed insight into relating one-on-one with students, being caring and compassionate, building positive relationships, accommodating different capabilities, and observing mutual support between students and teachers.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man