Increasing STEM Career Interest in Middle Schoolers Through a Health-Themed Serious Game

End of Imperial, a browser-based medical mystery serious game, was designed to test whether health-themed gameplay can spark middle schoolers' interest in STEM and health careers. The study draws on Mayer's interest theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory, and frames its inquiry within the broader U.S. shortage of STEM workers. It positions the game as a potential tool for building the early career interest that feeds the STEM pipeline.

The study enrolled 86 students across three California schools representing urban public, urban charter, and suburban public settings. Students completed a post-gameplay Likert-scale survey measuring career interest, enjoyment, perceived learning, and difficulty. Enjoyment was consistently high, with mean scores between 3.9 and 4.6 on a five-point scale. Between 72 and 83 percent of students rated their career interest between 3 and 5, and career interest did not differ significantly across sites. Perceived learning gains were significant at one site (p = 0.048), and reported difficulty varied significantly by site (p = 0.05).

The findings should be read as immediate perceptions rather than measured change. The design relied on post-survey self-reports without control groups or pre-testing, so the evidence cannot establish that interest or self-efficacy actually increased as a result of play. The results instead indicate that the game was well received and that students reported favorable views of its learning value and career relevance. Establishing a causal effect on STEM career interest would require pre-post measurement and comparison conditions, which the current design does not include.