engleski

Qualitative analysis of experience, beliefs and attitudes of elementary school children towards STEM intervention program

Considering there is a general decline of interest of school children in education fields and careers related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), various activities have been implemented with the purpose of increasing the interest of children for STEM related school subjects and careers – so called STEM interventions. A STEM intervention was carried out in eight experimental schools in Zagreb and its vicinity (N=979) as part of the JOBSTEM project, a longitudinal study of the relationship between achievement, competence belief and interest in careers. The intervention was carried out on two occasions, i.e. in 2016 and 2017 via multidisciplinary workshops, educational visits to college laboratories and school lectures and workshops. To gain a deeper insight into the students’ perception and understanding of the STEM intervention, focus groups were assembled shortly after the interventions to evaluate the process and contents of the conducted STEM intervention and to understand its outcomes. The goal of the conducted focus groups was to determine the satisfaction of students with the intervention, to determine the achieved outcomes and to determine the broader influence of the intervention (the effect on teachers, parents and peers). The focus groups were conducted as semi-structured interviews in the duration of one school period with students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade (N=24) from four experimental groups in 2016 and with students in the 5th, 6th and 7th grade (N=34) in four other experimental schools in 2017. The results of the research point to the general efficacy of the conducted interventions, students were mostly satisfied with the conducted activities ; they noticed an increase in knowledge about STEM fields and STEM professionals and have exhibited more positive attitudes towards them. They have also reported that teachers, parents and peers have not shown a significant interest in their participation in STEM activities.

STEM, intervention, evaluation, elementary school, focus groups

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