Personal Inputs and Contextual Supports as Predictors of STEM Aspirations among Boys and Girls (original) (raw)

Perspectives of Stem Education Regarding Serbian Secondary School Students’ Motivation for Career Choice

Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2020

The research was motivated by the necessity to examine the perspectives of STEM professions in Serbia. The aim of this research was to study students’ motives for career choices and their attitudes towards STEM sciences. The empirical scientific approach was applied, i.e. the quantitative and qualitative research method. The most frequently chosen undergraduate majors, the motives that determined that choice and the professional interests were examined by the interviewing technique in the first phase and the scaling and survey techniques in the second phase of the research. The participation in the research was voluntary and comprised of Serbian secondary school students. The research ascertained that a poor state of the national economy determined the students’ decision to be trained for “jobs of the future” rather than attend the desired studies. The professions in the IT sector, engineering and sciences proved to be the most profitable ones. These results proved a growing popular...

Investigation of STEM Subject and Career Aspirations of Lower Secondary School Students in the North Calotte Region of Finland, Norway, and Russia

Education Sciences, 2022

This study investigates the suitability of the STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS) to measure secondary school students’ aspirations towards STEM subjects and careers. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the initial structural validity of the adapted STEM-CIS survey, where the science subscale was extended to four science disciplines, to align with the way science is taught in Finland and Russia. The results indicate that the interest in STEM subjects in general is not at a high level in any of the countries. There is a traditional gender gap regarding STEM subjects in every dimension, which favors females in biology and males in technology and engineering. STEM stereotypes among students—due to low exposure to STEM professions at school—can explain students’ low interest despite high self-efficacies. Our study shows that we must increase informal learning opportunities inside and outside school and improve career counselling for students so that they wil...

A Model of Interest in Stem Careers Among Secondary School Students

Journal of Baltic Science Education

Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students’ interest in...

STEM CAREER ASPIRATIONS AMONG PORTUGUESE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Atas do XXV Simpósio Internacional de Informática Educativa , 2023

The main objective of this study was to investigate the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) career interests of secondary school students in Portugal. Data were collected from a sample of 190 twelfth grade students, consisting of 106 females and 84 males, using the STEM Career Interest Survey. The results showed that interest in careers in engineering tended to be lower than interest in mathematics, science, and technology among secondary school students. The study also found a gender gap in students' interest in science, engineering, and technology careers. Female students were less interested in engineering and technology-related careers than their male counterparts, but more interested in science-related careers. These findings can inform education policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers, and researchers about the importance of STEM education in nurturing and cultivating students' interest in STEM fields.

Career aspirations in STEM: Gender differences and similarities at Year 9

https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/\_\_data/assets/pdf\_file/0003/219252/Career-aspirations-in-STEM-Gender-differences-and-similarities-at-Year-9.pdf, 2022

This research is based on Missing out on half of the world’s potential: Fewer female than male top achievers in mathematics and science want a career in these fields, published by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in April 2022. Using the IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 data for 45 countries and education jurisdictions, the researchers found that lower secondary school boys were more likely than girls to want to pursue a career in mathematics and science; confidence in the subject was strongly associated with both girls’ and boys’ career aspirations, and achievement in the subject did not impact on boys’ views of pursuing a STEM career particularly one involving mathematics. New Zealand was not mentioned in the international research. New Zealand’s TIMSS 2019 data is used to investigate the views of Year 9 students. We found that less than half of Year 9 students wanted to pursue a career in either a mathematics– or science related field. Year 9 boys like their international male peers were more likely to want to pursue a career in mathematics than Year 9 girls. However, unlike the international results, the likelihood of wanting a career in a science-related field was about the same for both Year 9 boys and girls. Like the international findings, confidence, and achievement in the two subject areas were related to their aspirations—particularly for boys wanting to pursue a mathematics career and girls wanting to pursue a science career. The findings will be of interest to those interested in students’ career aspirations and confidence in STEM, gender disparities in STEM fields and interventions to improve these, and curriculum design.

STEM Career Interest of Kazakhstani Middle and High School Students

Education Sciences

The aim of this study is to analyze secondary school students’ career interests in STEM subjects. This survey-based quantitative research is provided to gain insight into the STEM career interests of 398 students (7–11 graders), in the Almaty region of the Kazakhstan Republic. Through parametric and non-parametric test analysis, the relationship between students’ STEM career interest and their gender, their parents’ occupation, parents’ education, family size, school type, and school location were revealed. Results indicated that, on average, participant students showed positive interest in STEM careers. In particular, boys’ and girls’ responses were equally positive in many sub-scales of STEM. Additionally, great interest in STEM careers was shown by village students, whereas, for private school students who are living in the city, STEM career interests were the lowest in our sample. We also found that students’ family size, parents’ education, and occupation does not relate to stu...

STEM Career Interest: The Effect of Gender

Creative Education

The issue of women being underrepresented in STEM careers has become a global concern. Literature review shows that imbalance in STEM careers based on gender is due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Thus, this study investigated the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to STEM careers' interest. STEM career interest based on gender was also investigated. 354 secondary school students (14 years old) responded to a questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics (MANOVA) were employed. The students showed a medium-high level of interest in STEM careers. Boys tend to show higher interest compared to girls. Therefore, all parties need to play their role in creating a positive perception of STEM careers by considering the needs of male and female students.

Determination of the STEM Career Interests of Middle School Students

International Journal of Progressive Education, 2020

The aim of this research is to determine the middle school students' interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field. Descriptive survey model, which is one of the quantitative researches, was used. A scale named ‘’The Development of the STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS)’’ was applied to the middle school students who were studying in public schools in two different central districts of Ankara. 271 (51.7%) female and 253 (48.3%) male student attended to the research. The reliability coefficient of this questionnaire was calculated as 0.902. The findings show that self-efficacy, personal goals, expectation of results, interest in science, contextual support and individual inputs are effective in STEM career interests of middle school students. STEM career interest has been found to be disproportionate to gender, but it is proportional to class level. In order for students to develop their career plans, the content which is specific to the STEM fields can be combined with the course content itself.

International Journal of Science Education Examination of factors predicting secondary students' interest in tertiary STEM education

Based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the study aims to investigate factors that predict students’ interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in tertiary education both in general and in relation to their gender and socio-economic background. The results of the analysis of survey responses of 2458 secondary public school students in the fifth-largest Israeli city indicate that STEM learning experience positively associates with students’ interest in pursuing STEM fields in tertiary education as opposed to non-STEM fields. Moreover, studying advanced science courses at the secondary school level decreases (but does not eliminate) the gender gap and eliminates the effect of family background on students’ interest in pursuing STEM fields in the future. Findings regarding outcome expectations and self-efficacy beliefs only partially support the SCCT model. Outcome expectations and self-efficacy beliefs positively correlate with students’ entering tertiary education but did not differentiate between their interests in the fields of study .

The factors motivating students' STEM career aspirations: personal and societal contexts

International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 2018

Students' STEM career aspirations have received increasing attention worldwide. To understand students' perspectives toward science in terms of their STEM career aspirations, researchers in the present study analysed the data collected from participants' Qualtrics survey responses. The participants in this study were 9th to 12th grade students (n=44) who voluntarily participated in a one-week STEM camp for which they were offered admission as a result of winning the state science and engineering fair in Texas. The collected data were analysed using thematic analysis along with supplementary analysis of frequency distributions to determine how these motivated students' perspectives toward science influenced their decisions to pursue or avoid STEM-related careers. Results revealed that 79.4 per cent of these students were interested in pursuing STEM careers. Of those who selected STEM careers for their future employment, the perspectives they held regarding science tha...