Measurement of Student STEM Identity

“Measurement of Student STEM Identity: A Systematic Literature Review”

This systematic literature review indicates a measurement crisis in student STEM identity research, highlighting the need for robust, asset-based measures that capture the complexity of STEM identity across contexts and developmental levels.

STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) identity is an important outcome of STEM education and an effective means for developing a STEM-engaged public and workforce. While most identity research has been qualitative, there is a growing desire to study student identity, in context, through quantitative measures. Our understanding of and ability to cultivate students’ STEM identity is reliant upon robust measures. This systematic literature review of 153 peer-reviewed quantitative and mixed-methods studies that measure student (i.e., elementary school-aged children to adult learners) STEM identity examined study characteristics, theoretical frameworks, STEM identity components, and psychometric quality evidence. Findings revealed a predominance of measures from the United States and Western countries; samples of students who are mostly white, male, and in college; studies measuring science identity; a vast array of measurement instrument sources, theoretical frameworks, and identity constructs and components; and reliability and validity limitations. Future directions entail more inclusive, international sampling; explicit discussion of measurement instrument sources, theories, and component definitions; gathering of multiple forms of reliability, validity, and fairness evidence; and leveraging network analysis in systematic literature review methodologies. Implications include developing and validating ontologies and asset-based STEM identity measures to understand and cultivate continuous STEM identity trajectories.

1. What are the characteristics of studies measuring student STEM identity? And specifically, what published sources were used for developing, adapting, and/or adopting instruments for measuring student STEM identity in the reviewed studies?
2. What theoretical perspectives inform these measurement studies?
3. Which components of student STEM (including STEM, science, technology, engineering, math, and other disciplinary foci, such as chemistry and physics) identity are operationalized and measured?
4. What types of psychometric evidence are reported for the measures used in these studies?

Identity is an interdisciplinary, rapidly growing international field within education research. Extant STEM education research has determined that STEM identity is a strong predictor of entry, maintenance, and persistence on STEM pathways that extend from childhood to and throughout adulthood. Overall, STEM identity is a critical contributor to and outcome of high-quality STEM education programs that cultivate a society equipped to collectively understand and confront ambitious challenges. Given its focus on what students do, how they see themselves, and how others perceive them across contexts, identity serves as a comprehensive lens for understanding and improving student learning and participation. Although conceptualizations of identity vary, identity is largely considered a multidimensional, complex construct. Advancement in STEM identity research, however, is inevitably constrained by existing measures. STEM identity measurements can differ along a variety of features, including the population the instrument is intended for, component definitions, underlying theoretical perspectives, number and type of items, and psychometric properties. Thus, it is imperative to examine the current state of research measuring student STEM identity.

It is necessary to attend to and nurture STEM identity across the lifespan in more nuanced, expansive ways than current measures allow for. There might be facets of STEM identity that have not yet been identified, elucidated, or sufficiently represented through existing items, yet have critical consequences for engagement and participation along multiple STEM pathways. There is a need for more psychometrically rigorous measurement instruments that comprehensively address various components of STEM identity among learners, across contexts and developmental levels. Such measures should account for individuals’ strengths, agency, and aspirations, while considering differential opportunity structures tied to multiple identities across contexts. These measures would align with efforts that promote multiple ways of knowing, being, and participating in STEM.

Network analysis was used to examine the structure of relationships among reviewed studies and the theoretical frameworks used, along with reviewed studies and their sources of measures. This analytical approach uncovered patterns of connectivity and influence that are often overlooked with frequency counts alone.

Tripp, J. N., & Liu, X. (2026). Measurement of student STEM identity: A systematic literature review. Educational Research Review, 51, 100778.