%0 Journal Article
%T ˇ°STEMmingˇ± the Swell of Absenteeism in the Middle Years: Impacts of an Urban District Summer Robotics Program
%A Douglas J. Mac Iver
%A Martha Abele Mac Iver
%J Urban Education
%@ 1552-8340
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0042085915618712
%X This article reports findings from a quasi-experimental study of the impact of a summer robotics program for urban middle-grade students. The study focuses on student engagement, measured by school attendance rate the year following the program. Program students, who were nearly all low-income minority students, were matched to comparison students who did not attend summer school. After establishing baseline equivalence in attendance between the groups, the study found a statistically and educationally significant program effect on school attendance the following year, suggesting that high-interest hands-on educational activities can help maintain student engagement in school
%K middle school
%K attendance
%K engagement
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042085915618712