Multidisciplinary Education Pathways to Attract High School Students Toward Research and Science

This study reports the design, implementation, and descriptive evaluation of “Codici del Futuro”, a STEM-oriented education pathway developed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) to promote students’ interest in science and awareness of research-related careers and addressed to local high school students. The programme involved 167 high school students organised in 10 groups and combined an orientation session with hands-on workshops delivered in CNR research facilities (chemistry, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, eXdended Reality/Augmented Reality (XR/AR), and game design). The chemistry workshop will be described as a case study. The study addresses two research questions: (RQ1) What group-level outcomes (participation, engagement, interest, behaviour) are observed across the multidisciplinary pathway? (RQ2) What post-activity satisfaction and short-term knowledge outcomes are observed in the chemistry workshop as an embedded case study? Group-level outcomes were assessed through a facilitator-based evaluation grid, using four single-item indicators rated on a 10-point scale and including field notes. The chemistry case study included an anonymous post-activity questionnaire (satisfaction, prior experience, and an eight-item knowledge test). Results documented high levels of engagement, interest, and appropriate behaviour across groups, whereas participation showed greater variability. In the chemistry case study, students reported high satisfaction and moderate post-activity knowledge scores, with differences across knowledge domains. Overall, findings provide descriptive evidence on student responses within a research-centre-based, multi-workshop STEM pathway.