Impact of outreach on physics student development: Quantitative results from a national survey

This work reports results from the first national study of the impact of student facilitation of informal physics outreach programs on their physics identity, sense of belonging, and essential career skill development. Drawing on results from studies at a single institution with a well-established physics outreach program, a national survey was developed and distributed through the Society of Physics Students’ network to more than 5000 individuals. A total of 704 responses were received. Responses to closed-form questions on the survey were analyzed descriptively and using multiple regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between student participation in informal physics outreach programs and the constructs of interest. Results show that students’ engagement in outreach was linked to increased confidence in communicating their physics knowledge, as well as to the development of key career skills. Additionally, facilitating informal physics outreach programs was a modest but significant predictor of a stronger growth mindset and a greater sense of belonging within the field, which are known to contribute to student persistence in their major.