The impact of STEM Competitions on Students' Career Interest and Persistence in STEM

With the highly demand of national development and labor market, more high-level talents are needed to engage in STEM careers. STEM career interest is an important predictor to students' STEM choices, it has attracted the attention of researchers. However, little is known about how STEM competitions affect students' career interests and their persistence in STEM. Therefore, the current study surveyed the views of 71 alumni who participated in STEM competitions at the high school, mixed methods was employed. The quantitative findings suggest that alumni acknowledge that competitions increase their interest in STEM careers. Although there is no significant difference in their choice of STEM majors compared to those who did not participate in the competition, the proportion of their continuing to participate in STEM activities and likelihood of pursuing STEM careers in the future is higher. Qualitative data show that students have access to more STEM resources through competitions, gained STEM knowledge, improved STEM skills, and had a positive feeling of STEM, which have promoted them to generate or maintain a STEM career interest, and on this basis, it is possible to choose STEM-related majors in universities, participate in STEM-related activities, and expect to engage in STEM careers in the future, forming a path of sustainable development in the STEM field. Our findings provide insight that STEM competitions are an important factor in increasing students' interest and persistence in STEM careers, and we suggest the development of STEM competitions can be further strengthened in the future.