Achieving Diversity in STEM: The Role of Drawing-Based Instruments

Are drawing-based instruments such as the Draw-A-Scientist-Test (DAST) and its derivatives effective probes for assessing the images of scientists held by girls and children of diverse ethnicities in developed countries, children in Asia, and children in the developing world? This paper is a review of the literature from 2002 to the present designed to answer that question. It also addresses a second research question of what insights these images reveal that can inform development of inclusive science curricula. Scientist image data obtained from drawing-based images reveal that drawings are heavily influenced by culture, gender and socio-economic status. These findings suggest an opportunity to engage girls and ethnic minority children in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning by integrating gender and ethnic content into STEM curriculum following the model developed by Joseph Banks (1989) for social studies and history curriculum.