How Children Internalize Role Models: The Science of “Seeing Someone Like Me”

When children see someone who looks like them, shares their background, or walks a path they want to walk, something powerful happens: they begin to believe “I could do that too.” In this article, we explore the research behind how children internalize role models, especially those who reflect their identity, and why this matters deeply in healthcare-STEM education. At Little Medical School® of the Treasure Coast, we believe that diverse role models are essential to inspiring tomorrow’s healthcare heroes.

The Science Behind Role Models and Internalization

Social-Learning Theory

Psychologist Albert Bandura explained that children learn not only by doing, but by watching others do. When they observe someone who succeeds, especially someone they identify with, their belief in their own ability, known as self-efficacy, rises.

Role Models & Aspirations

Recent reviews show that exposure to counter-stereotypical role models, for instance, a woman engineer or a person of color physician, can shift children’s career aspirations and weaken limiting stereotypes. In one study of adolescents, those who had identifiable adult role models in relevant domains reported higher interest in education and fewer risk behaviors.

“Seeing Someone Like Me” Matters

Children develop their sense of self and possible futures partly by mirroring others. When a child sees a healthcare professional who shares their gender, ethnicity or background, the idea of entering that field becomes more tangible. The “looking-glass self” concept suggests children internalize how they believe others view them, and that includes seeing themselves in a role model they trust.

Why This Matters for Healthcare-STEM Education

Healthcare and STEM fields struggle with representation gaps. When children from under-represented backgrounds receive a message that “people like you don’t do this job,” their aspirations often stop early. But when they see diverse instructors, healthcare professionals and mentors, their internal narrative changes from “that’s not for me” to “that could be me.”

That shift doesn’t just increase interest, it can influence persistence, academic performance and career path decisions. By intentionally providing role models reflective of our students’ identities, education programs like Little Medical School® play a critical role in shaping the next generation of doctors, nurses, engineers and allied-health professionals.

“Our staff come from a wide array of backgrounds, current undergrad students, underserved communities, second-career professionals, international health experiences, and when a student sees that, they say, ‘If they can do it, I can too.’” — Melanie Ortega, Program Director at Little Medical School® of the Treasure Coast

How We Put This Into Action

• Diverse Instructor Team: Our instructors reflect multiple ethnicities, genders and education paths. This allows every child to see someone with a shared story.

• Healthcare Role-Play with Real Tools: Through our mobile labs, children don lab coats, explore anatomy, run simulations and meet role models in real-life STEM healthcare settings.

• Explicit “You Can Too” Messaging: During sessions we may ask children questions like: “Do you see someone here who looks like you? How might you follow this path?”

• Partnering With Schools & Communities: By bringing our program into schools across South Florida, especially areas with lower representation in STEM, we expand access to role modelling in healthcare fields.

Tips for Teachers & Parents to Reinforce Role Model Impact

1. Use Public & Personal Role Models: Share bios of healthcare professionals who share your child’s background.

2. Highlight Stories of Change & Entry: Resist the “born genius” myth; focus on people who started somewhere familiar and made it.

3. Encourage Reflection: Ask children: “Who in this session made you think, ‘I could do that?’ Why?”

4. Connect Role to Action: After meeting a role model, follow with an activity (lab, experiment) so children feel like participants, not just observers.

5. Maintain Representation Over Time: One exposure helps, but repeated, diverse role modelling reinforces change in self-belief and career outlook.

Conclusion

In health-science education, providing children with diverse, relatable role models is not optional, it’s essential. When a child internalizes a role model who looks like them, shares their story, and holds a position they aspire to, the phrase “I see someone like me” transforms into “I can be someone like that.”

At Little Medical School® of the Treasure Coast, our mission is to equip each child with the tools, experiences and role models that make healthcare careers feel accessible, inspiring and possible for every student, world-wide and right here in South Florida.