INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF NASA SPACE APPS HACKATHON IN PROMOTING YOUTH’S STEM SELF-EFFICACY

This study investigated the impact on youth's STEM self-efficacy after participation in the NASA Space Apps Challenge. NASA Space Apps Challenge is an annual global hackathon where participants use NASA’s open Geo-scientific big data to solve real-world problems. STEM self-efficacy is defined as a judgment of one’s ability to organize and execute the courses of action necessary to attain a specific goal towards STEM. A survey was administered to the 116 participants in the NASA Space Apps Hackathon in Las Vegas in 2020 and to the 28 participants in 2021 respectively. Most participants were youth aged between 15 to 24. The participants completed a pre-survey prior to the beginning of the Hackathon and then completed a follow-up survey immediately after working on the Hackathon. During 2020, increases in youth’ STEM self-efficacy occurred in their perceptions of capability associated with their experiences with the Hackathon. During 2021, youth reported decreases in their STEM self-efficacy.