Middle School Students and Nature Identity: A Potential Pathway to STEM Career Interest

ABSTRACT This descriptive quantitative study investigates the relationship between gardening activities, parental encouragement for outdoor time, and middle school students' interest in STEM careers. These variables are of interest because of the increased number of females pursuing biocentric STEM fields. Using multigroup path analysis, we examined how home experiences predict career interests, with a focus on potential gender differences. Our findings reveal that time spent gardening positively predicts nature identity, which also predicts STEM career interests. However, this pathway varies between male and female students. Surprisingly, parental encouragement negatively predicts nature identity, suggesting complex interactions between home experiences and identity formation. We also observed gender‐specific differences in how nature, science, and mathematics identities connect to STEM interests. These results highlight the potential importance of gardening during adolescence in fostering interest in STEM careers. Our study contributes to the understanding of factors influencing STEM career interests and provides insights for educators and policymakers seeking to promote STEM engagement among youth.