fsQCA for discovering social emotional pathways to adult STEM engagement

The Roads Taken Project utilized fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine necessary and sufficient conditions for achieving STEM involvement of alumnae(i) of six intensive STEM-based youth programs 15 to 25 years after participation. Outcomes included overall STEM involvement (including STEM academics and careers, personal STEM involvement, community STEM involvement, and long-term STEM identity), and post- program and program contribution to social-emotional learning and development. We identified conditions contributing to pathways to these outcomes. Results revealed that, although differing for the varied participant groups, social-emotional learning and development played a role in all the pathways but was particularly prominent in pathways to community STEM involvement. High program dose accompanied by a sense of competence, relatedness, and autonomy in programs with highly varied strategies led to social-emotional learning and varied by participant groups. Along with presenting findings, this study highlights fsQCA as a method for revealing the complex relationship of social-emotional development to STEM outcomes and the multiple pathways for achieving them.