Entrepreneurial thinking in STEM education: results from a STEM intervention program on career development and students’ experiences

Abstract Recent literature shows that integrating entrepreneurial thinking into STEM education is crucial. However, a gap remains in how entrepreneurial thinking is integrated and how interventions are implemented, specifically in higher education contexts. Current study examines women undergraduate STEM students’ perspectives and experiences related to a targeted entrepreneurial thinking intervention implemented within the SUSTAIN (STEM Talent Acceleration Initiative) program at a private university in the United States. A pre-post design was employed, with data collected through surveys, including STEM Entrepreneurial Career Development measure (SECDM), open-ended survey questions and semi-structured interviews. Six undergraduate students completed the pre- and post-intervention surveys, and five of them also participated in semi-structured interviews grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) constructs. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed an improvement in participants’ SECDM scores, as well as a change in their perspectives towards STEM entrepreneurship. The Wilcoxon test showed the improvement was not statistically significant ( p = .058). Given the small sample size, these findings should be considered exploratory. In addition, thematic analysis of the interviews identified six themes regarding to perceptions on STEM entrepreneurship, including growth in entrepreneurial interest, increased knowledge and awareness, and barriers.