Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics Students Research Articles

Burnout and Attention Failure in STEM: The Role of Self-Control and the Buffer of Mindfulness.

Drawing on self-regulatory strength models of self-control, this research examined the relationship between burnout and attentional processes for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students. Using data from participants in STEM, burnout was found to be associated with higher levels of off-task thinking, also known as mind-wandering. Further, self-control acted as a mediator in the relationship between burnout and mind-wandering such that higher levels of burnout predicted poor self-control that subsequently increased the mind's tendency to wander. Additionally, mindfulness buffered the relationship between burnout and mind-wandering such that burnout had the most detrimental impact on attention for those students who were low in mindfulness. Using the Johnson-Neyman approach, results reveal the upper limits for the moderating impact of mindfulness. Results and implications for science and practice are discussed with a special grounding for students in the STEM context.

Improving the practical skills of STEM students at a historically black college and university (HBCU)

Improving the practical skills of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students at a historically black college and university (HBCU) was done by implementing a transformative teaching model. The model was implemented on undergraduate students of different educational levels in the Electrical Engineering (EE) Department at HBCU. The model was also extended to carefully chosen high and middle schools. These middle and high school students serve as a pipeline to the university, with a particular emphasis on fostering growth within the EE Department. The model aligns well with the core mission of the EE Department, aiming to enhance the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of students, ensuring that they are qualified to work in industry or to pursue graduate studies. The implemented model prepares students for outstanding STEM careers. It also increases enrolment, student retention, and the number of underrepresented minority graduates in a technology-based workforce.

Empowering STEM students: A university-wide mentorship program fostering retention and belonging.

In the face of a challenging climate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) higher education that is resistant to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts aimed to increase and retain students from historically excluded groups (HEGs), there is a critical need for a support structure to ensure students from HEGs continue to be recruited retained. The Biology Undergraduate and Master's Mentorship Program (BUMMP) embodies this commitment to fostering scientific identity, efficacy, and a sense of belonging for first-generation and historically underserved undergraduate and master's students at UC San Diego. The mission of BUMMP is to cultivate a sense of belonging, instill confidence, and nurture a strong scientific identity amongst all its participants. At its core, the three pillars of BUMMP are(1) mentorship, (2) professional development, and (3) research. Quality mentorship is provided where students receive personal guidance from faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and industry leaders in navigating their career pathways. Complementing mentorship, BUMMP provides paid research opportunities and prioritizes professional development by offering workshops designed to enhance students' professional skills. These three pillars form the backbone of BUMMP, empowering students from all backgrounds and ensuring their retention and persistence in STEM. So far, we've served over 1350 mentees, collaborated with 809 mentors, and had over 180 mentees actively engaged in BUMMP-sponsored research activities. The primary focus of this paper is to provide a programmatic guideline for the three pillars of BUMMP: mentorship, professional development, and research. This will offer a blueprint for other institutions to establish similar mentorship programs. Additionally, the paper highlights the impact of the BUMMP program and surveyed mentees who have participated in the mentorship and research component of BUMMP. We showed that mentorship and research experience enhance students' sense of belonging, science identity, and science efficacy, which are key predictors of retention and persistence in pursuing a STEM career. Overall, BUMMP's expansive efforts have made a tremendous impact at UC San Diego and will continue to foster a community of future leaders who will be prepared to make meaningful contributions to the scientific community and beyond.

Science Identity in Undergraduates: A Comparison of First-Year Biology Majors, Senior Biology Majors, and Non-STEM Majors

We argue it is important for everyone to possess basic scientific literacy for multiple reasons. Viewing oneself as a science person or not can impact one’s confidence and willingness to engage with science content thereby improving science literacy. Identifying as a science person may develop early but is not fixed and may shift through science identity work. We investigated science identity views between STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and non-STEM majors and assessed whether these views may be influenced by science identity work. Our questions were as follows: (1) How does science identity perception differ between non-STEM and STEM majors? (2) How do non-STEM and STEM students’ perceptions of their science identity change over time? (3) How do non-STEM majors describe a science person compared to STEM majors? We surveyed first-year biology majors, senior biology majors, and non-STEM majors to address our research questions. We found significant shifts in science identity in non-STEM majors taking a general education lab science class pre-course and post-course, differences in agreement regarding science identity between groups, and differences in how a science person is defined among the groups. Our data suggest that instructors can scaffold and support students’ science identity work to increase confidence, STEM retention, and ultimately can improve overall scientific literacy.

STEM Students’ Motivation, Interest, and Career Direstion Amid New Normal Education: A Narrative Inquiry Research

The abrupt transition of learning modalities and the global health crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have reshaped the learners’ experiences and insights, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Hence, this study was conducted to explore the stories of senior high school STEM learners on how the new normal education impacted their motivation, interest, and career direction using a narrative inquiry research design. Purposive sampling was used to select twelve participants from a public senior high school offering the STEM strand. A Semi-structured interview guide, which underwent expert judgment, was used to collect data. After securing consent forms, in-depth interviews were conducted via online platforms. Data collected were transcribed, coded, categorised, and thematised, applying Polkinghorne’s analysis of narratives. Results illustrated that students’ (a) motivation has declined, causing discouragement in STEM activities, however, their passion and goals kept them eager; (b) interest was elevated by their constant commitment to STEM endeavours, yet less enthusiasm has become evident; (c) career direction was still definite as fuelled by relevance, though some have restructured theirs due to the drastic change of circumstances. Furthermore, students devised adaptive strategies to further enrich themselves in STEM undertakings such as improving STEM identity, fostering STEM competence and habits, reorganisation of tasks, and peer collaboration. The findings of this study led to the creation of an action plan to further improve the STEM learning experiences of students amid the radical educational change. This research employed a holistic perspective as it considers the nature, aspect, and meaning of students’ narratives.

Does Gender Composition in a Field of Study Matter? Gender Disparities in College Students’ Academic Self-Concepts

AbstractGendered field-of-study choice is a lively topic of discussion. The explanation usually given for the fact that women are still an exception in typically ‘male’ fields—particularly STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)—employs domain-specific stereotypes regarding men’s and women’s ‘natural’ abilities in different fields. The central argument of our study is that domain-specific gender stereotypes help explain why few women enter such fields; however, they are not necessarily the driving forces behind the finding that female students who chose typically male subjects have weaker academic self-concepts than their male peers. If it were only domain-specific gender stereotypes that influence students’ perceptions of their abilities, we should find the opposite result in typically female fields of study and no differences in gender-mixed fields. Because existing studies often focus on the male-dominated STEM domain alone, research may have drawn the wrong conclusions. By comparing students in male-dominated, female-dominated, and gender-mixed fields of study, we ask: Does gender composition in the field of study matter for gender disparities in college (university) students’ academic self-concepts? Using data from 10,425 students in the German National Educational Panel Study, our results suggest that it is not only in male-dominated fields of study that women rate their own abilities to be poorer than men rate theirs; the same is true in female-dominated and gender-mixed fields. Therefore, domain-specific gender stereotypes regarding students’ abilities do not (alone) seem to drive gender disparities in STEM students’ perception of their own abilities. No matter what academic field we consider, female students generally exhibit weaker academic self-concepts; however, the gap is most pronounced in male-dominated fields.

Empowering Students’ Comprehension in Calculus with eCALculator

Calculus is a fundamental subject in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) study programs. Despite the introduction of basic calculus concepts as early as secondary school, many undergraduate students still encounter difficulties in comprehending and solving differentiation and integration problems. As calculus is fundamental to fields like science and engineering, possessing a solid mathematical and calculus foundation becomes essential for STEM students. Struggling to grasp these fundamental concepts not only impacts performance in calculus but also poses challenges when tackling advanced related topics. Recognizing this challenge, the eCALculator is introduced as a comprehensive and accessible solution. This innovative tool takes the form of a step-by-step e-manual, guiding students in determining a function’s derivatives and integrals using a calculator. The e-manual can be accessed via a flipbook, encompasses instructional videos and exercises. The eCALculator was tested to 40 engineering students enrolled in Calculus courses at UiTM Cawangan Pulau Pinang. Survey results indicate that the eCALculator not only helps improving students’ comprehension and accuracy in calculus problem-solving but also increases motivation and interest in learning, particularly among low-achieving mathematics students who require additional support.

The early bird gets the worm: age of entry to STEM-related academic education – gender and SES differences

ABSTRACT Background The transition to adulthood in contemporary industrialized society, which once followed a fairly standard pattern, has undergone many changes in terms of timing and order of events. Today’s emerging adults are as likely as not to postpone their entry to college after high school, withdraw temporarily from studies after enrolling, and switch study tracks as well as colleges or universities. While there may be a risk of inappropriate educational choice for those of younger age due to low career maturity, a substantial ‘price’ may also be paid for delayed entry in terms of several labor market indicators. Purpose The study examines gender and SES differences in the age of entering an academic education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field in Israel. Sample and methods This research was conducted through an online survey of a representative sample of 313 STEM students. Results The findings show the non-significant effect of SES on the age of entering academic education among young women. In contrast, young men with higher SES were likely to start STEM education earlier compared to their lower SES counterparts. Conclusions In the competitive STEM-oriented labor market with its pronounced preference for younger graduates from academic institutions, low SES men who postponed their entry to academic institutions may thus be ‘punished’ for their relatively older age. Therefore, the timing of entering academic education should not be overlooked in social stratification models and theories. Identifying ‘risk groups’ in relation to postponing vs speeding up factors may provide insights for STEM policy makers and practitioners.

ERANDA PATRA (Ricinus communis L.) AS A KRIMIGHNA DRAVYA (ANTIMICROBIAL DRUG) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ESCHERICHIA COLI BACTERIA- AN IN VITRO STUDY

One of the Department of Educations (DepEd) programs is the K-12 program. They extended it for two more years to give students more time to consider their options for the future. The Senior High School (SHS) program had four tracks: Arts and Design, Sports, Technical and Vocational, and Academic, which included the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand. STEM is understood to be an integral part of math and science courses at the school level. It also contributed to the development of 21st-century abilities for all learners. This study determined the status of STEM students in the Philippines. Through descriptive research, this study described and analyzed the trends in the enrolment of STEM students as well as the factors that explain the dropout rate of STEM students. The data under this study came from a trusted source, which is the Department of Educations reports of enrollment from 2016- 2021. The enrollment rate and completion rate of SHS-STEM students are steadily increasing year after year. Thus, different intervention activities were proposed to address the identified factors that led to students dropping out of the STEM track. In addition, the findings of this study were used to improve the STEM strands implementation in SHS and helped future generations as well as the Department of Education in the effective implementation of STEM education across the country. KEYWORDS: STEM, Department of Education, SHS, Enrollment rate, Completion rate.

Implications of dispositions for foreign language writing: The case of the Arabic–English learner

Individual differences matter in foreign language writing. Yet, little information exists on female students in Saudi Arabia, a patriarchal society that is being re-engineered to foster gender equity. This study asked whether particular psychological dispositions can account for the performance in English composition of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and non-STEM Saudi female students (i.e. an understudied population whose first language is Arabic). Examined were dispositions such as anxiety, which was expected to be detrimental to attainment, and self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, which were expected to be beneficial. A sample of 430 Saudi female students for whom English was their second language was surveyed. Students had completed a required English composition course the previous semester. Cluster analysis illustrated three distinct groups of students. Students who did not report anxiety were either STEM or a subsection of non-STEM students. The remaining non-STEM students reported anxiety as well as lower self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and writing attainment than the other two groups. Findings suggest that, within this particular understudied population, consideration of individual differences can inform the selection of remedies for at-risk students in English composition courses.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLLEGE COURSES THROUGH CAREER GUIDANCE PROGRAM (CGP) MODULES AND WORK IMMERSION (WI)

This study was conducted to determine if the conduct of Career Guidance Program (CGP) Modules and Work Immersion (WI) are really helping Grade 12 learners in choosing their right college courses. The researcher utilized descriptive research design. Then, he randomly selected the respondents from the two (2) sections of Grade 12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learners of Los Baños Senior High School (LBSHS) S. Y. 2018 - 2019. In addition to this, four (4) teachers were also chosen as additional respondents. A researcher made a questionnaire and distributed to the fourty – two (42) chosen respondents. Simple statistics like Frequency and Percentage were used to get the analysis of data. The Career Guidance Program (CGP) Modules and Work Immersion (WI) were found to provide help in choosing the college courses of Grade 12 STEM students. This is reflected on the significant learnings of the respondents. It is also visible in the identified help or assistance that they rendered to the respondents. In general, the courses taken by Grade 12 STEM students are related to their Track and Strand which are Academic and STEM respectively. This is denoted by thirty - six (36) responses or equivalent to 94.74 % the total responses. Most of the courses that they intend to take are related to Science and Mathematics. The learners are also becoming more involved in making the decisions of what particular college course they will pursue. It is visible in the percentage of their involvement particularly twelve (12) responses or 31.58 % for the child and twenty- two (22) or 57.89 % for both child and parents. It is also recommended that in the conduct of CGP Modules, consider having more self - assessment activities, and more reading and oral activities like sharing of outputs. Allot enough time to execute the modules to the SHS students. In the conduct of Work Immersion, try to make the time longer, have more exposure to actual field works and assign the students to institutions where their interests could be enhanced. In addition, other school programs or activities are suggested in order to augment the right career choices of SHS students like symposia or seminars about career path and opportunities, job fair, and organize club like peer educators or counselors club through the guidance counselors or advocates. And finally intensify the Counselling Program for SHS students focused on career pathing.

Cultivating a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) community for two-year college student success and persistence.

Undergraduate students studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) often fail to persist in critical "gateway" courses, resulting in students leaving the STEM pathway. Community college students leave STEM pathways at higher rates than students at universities. Implementation of a program designed to engage community college STEM students and faculty in a community of support was associated with increased persistence in STEM gateway courses and associate degree completion. Program elements included support staff, a STEM study room with peer tutors, faculty advisors, and transfer assistance. Over seven years, 415 students joined this opt-in support program. The majority of students in this program were economically disadvantaged and many were nontraditional college students. Using institutional data we tested the hypothesis that participation in this program was associated with increased student success and persistence in STEM courses and at the college. The mean GPA for students in the program in the ten courses with the highest STEM enrollments was higher (2.89) than that for other students (2.76). Quarter-to-quarter persistence was 87% for program students compared to 67% for non-program students in a matched student population. In STEM gateway courses, program students had between 1.2x to 3.5x greater likelihood than non-program students of progressing to precalculus-2 controlling for first-attempt GPA in precalculus-1. Similar persistence patterns were observed for other gateway STEM courses. Observed persistence for students in the program was higher than comparable groups of students, including persistence for those who experienced early failure in STEM courses. These data suggest students should be supported through early failure to enable persistence in critical STEM sequences, especially in gateway Math and Chemistry courses.

Promoting Student Success and DE&I in Experiential Education at an HBCU: STEM Lab Internship Programs

Over the past four years, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence grant supported Delaware State University (DSU) to increase student success and foster faculty development in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. One component of this grant has provided students, particularly early sequence (freshman and sophomores), the opportunity to participate in a lab internship program. This program has provided students with access to vital research experience and removed some of the barriers for student opportunities, particularly for minority and first-generation students, in STEM fields. The internship program is rooted in principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion and is a cost-effective model for increasing experiential opportunities for STEM students. This paper will share the logistics and inclusive parameters of the program, survey data from student and faculty mentors, as well as highlight the benefits of incorporating an early experiential learning opportunity for students in STEM fields. The paper demonstrates the steps to create a low-cost lab program and how future internships experiences can be designed with diversity, equity, and inclusion as core principles.

Pursuing Stem Careers: Challenges of Senior High School Students during Distance Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic required the educational sector to implement countermeasures in order to continue educating students amidst the pandemic, this may have resulted in a gap in the number of people entering the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) field. This study determined the challenges of senior high school students in learning in STEM through distance learning. The respondents were 85 Grade 12 STEM students from the six (6) selected public and private educational institutions in the province of Zambales who were chosen through stratified random sampling. Results revealed that STEM 12 students often encountered challenges in terms of Learning Environment (LEC), Student Isolation (SIC), and Workload, simultaneously, it was noted that they sometimes encountered challenges in terms of Self-Regulation (SRC), Technological Sufficiency (TSC), and Technological Literacy and Competency (TLCC).Statistically significant differences were noted on the challenges encountered by Senior High School Students during distance learning in terms of school and age, but there were no significant differences that were noted regarding the other profile variables. The study suggests that the education sector should create program interventions to address the challenges such as curriculum development, to encourage or institutionalize special training courses in mathematics and science, and to develop learning continuity plans to empower teachers and students.

Gender inequality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: gendered time disparities in perceived and actual time spent in practical laboratory-based activities

Lab-based activities provide essential skills for students within STEM disciplines, as lab activities provide students with research skills and science knowledge. Therefore, it is critical to note that female students have reported feeling less confident in conducting lab-based activities and report a lower sense of belonging in the lab. In two studies (N = 544) we examined gender differences in the time that students spent, and perceived they spent, on various laboratory-based activities. We predicted that female (vs. male) students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) would both perceive, and actually spend, less time in practical, science-specific activities, such as using equipment, compared to observing or note-taking. Study 1a (N = 227) was an online, cross-sectional survey where university STEM students reported their perceptions of time spent during lab-based practical activities, and how satisfied they were with their time spent in these activities. Study 1b (N = 318) was an observational study of university practical lab sessions in STEM disciplines. Our findings demonstrated that female (vs. male) students (1) spent more time recording and taking notes during lab sessions, (2) did not perceive, yet actually spent, less time in the lab using equipment, and (3) were equally satisfied with their time in the lab using equipment. Together, these results suggest that women occupy stereotypically gendered roles in the STEM lab, spending less time on activities that are key for their professional development. Furthermore, the fact that students from disciplines with more female participation were more satisfied with their time spent in lab activities can promote the insidious effects of assessing gender participation and equality in STEM through numbers only. The differences in time spent in lab activities-yet the lack of acknowledge of these differences-opens the discussion about how women might be receiving reduced utility from their programmes, and that universities may not be delivering on their obligations to ensure equal access to teaching resource and opportunities.

Higher education student intentions behind becoming an entrepreneur

PurposeThis research aims to identify the intentions behind becoming an entrepreneur and the perception of entrepreneurial failure among different groups of students. There has been significant research discussing the motivations behind becoming an entrepreneur. However, such a research study is often focused on individuals who are already in the entrepreneurial process. Therefore, this research focuses on the understanding of the entrepreneurial process specified on the intentions of becoming an entrepreneur and the associated risk, in the context of a learning process.Design/methodology/approachThe perspectives of students towards becoming an entrepreneur and their perception of associated risk are identified. A comparative exploratory case study method is used. Three cases developed in the light of empirical evidence consist of Business, Law and Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students.FindingsMajor results show that the law and STEM students were on the same line in terms of motivational factors, such as being career driven. In contrary, the business students were more driven by personal factors such as leaving something behind and building something meaningful.Originality/valueWhilst studies have attempted to understand entrepreneurial intentions, little work has considered students and their views on becoming entrepreneurs. Even with studies that looked at this subject matter, the focus was mainly business students. The authors build on previous work and construct the authors' views based on multi-disciplinary student base to know more about their intentions to become an entrepreneur. The science and law students were more influenced by external factors, whereas business students were focused more on their personal goals. Such classification of the diverse intentions based on student discipline opens a new and promising research avenue to better develop entrepreneurial education not only for business students but across all disciplines in higher education.

Exploring Pre-Service STEM Teachers’ Capacity to Teach Using a Gender-Responsive Approach

Teachers’ perceived efficacy of their ability to teach using a gender approach is key for future generations to become more gender-sensitive and respectful towards gender inequities. However, little is known about graduate training for gender-responsive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching. In this study, after exploring the measurement invariance across countries (Greece and Spain) and sexes (male and female) of the TEGEP (Teacher Self-Efficacy for Gender Equality Practice) scale, a total of 222 prospective secondary school STEM teachers (136 Greek, 86 Spanish) from seven public universities were surveyed. Results showed that (1) the TEGEP has acceptable measurement invariance across countries and among sexes allowing comparison between groups and (2) that Greek and Spanish STEM students finish their master studies without sufficient confidence in gender knowledge, skills, and attitudes to practice a gender-sensitive teaching. The ability to teach gender knowledge was significantly higher in Greek than in Spanish students (4.52 vs. 4.03), while the latter felt more competent than the Greek students in conveying values/attitudes in regard to gender (4.54 vs. 4.83). The study calls for reflection, and considering that gender mainstreaming in STEM is anecdotal and not aligned with existing curricula, seeks to raise awareness and institutional compromise in implementing a gender-responsive approach in STEM. The TEGEP could be utilized to assess and monitor the gender competencies required of graduates in order to provide a more equitable and gender-sensitive STEM education in Greece and Spain.

Entrepreneurship education and its gendered effects on feasibility, desirability and intentions for technology entrepreneurship among STEM students

PurposeThis study aims to examine how entrepreneurship education influences intentions for starting a technology venture among science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students with particular attention to gender differences. This study builds on the model of entrepreneurial event and social role theory to assess the impact of entrepreneurship education on feasibility, desirability and intentions for technology entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested with a sample of 879 Bulgarian science and engineering students from 15 universities. To test the models, this study uses ordinary least squares and logistic regressions with robust standard errors and Hayes mediation analysis with bootstrap bias-corrected confidence interval estimations for indirect effects. Two-stage Heckman regressions to control for sample selection bias and other robustness checks including propensity score matching were used.FindingsResults show that entrepreneurship education, measured as participation in an entrepreneurship course, has a stronger impact on feasibility, desirability and intentions for technology entrepreneurship for female STEM students compared to their male counterparts. As such, this study supports the notion that entrepreneurship education could be part of a solution to counteract societal norms that position technology entrepreneurship as a less desirable and/or less feasible choice for women in STEM. However, attention should be paid to the operationalization of entrepreneurship education, as other measures of entrepreneurship education (role models, entrepreneurship education support) did not have a moderation effect with gender.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors assume a positive correlation between entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behavior. Future studies should include actual entrepreneurial behavior to paint a more complete picture of the effect of entrepreneurship education.Originality/valueLittle is known about the role of entrepreneurship education in the field of technology entrepreneurship, and even less about the potential gender differences in entrepreneurship education among STEM students. The study contributes to the literature by examining factors that could help close the persistent gender gap in technology entrepreneurship.

Schools’ Readiness, Teachers’ Proficiency, and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Students’ Preparedness for Higher Education

Students’ preparedness is the extend to which students possess the skills, knowledge, and disposition necessary to succeed academically and socially in higher education practices. The purpose of this study was to determine schools’ level of readiness along funding resources, teacher training and curriculum, and teachers’ level of proficiency along pedagogies, qualification and training, classroom instruction and adequate resources, and STEM students’ level of preparedness for higher education and test the significant difference between the different factors that influence students’ preparedness for higher education. The researcher utilized descriptive-correlational method of research with the help of survey questionnaires as the main source of data. A value of 0.000 indicates a high level of the predictions of the dependent variable (STEM students’ preparedness for higher education). Further, the ANOVA shows that that the independent variable curriculum under the school readiness being statistically significantly predicted the dependent variable STEM student’s preparedness with an F-value of 6.331 and probability value of 0.000 which is less than the 0.05 significance level. This study is hoped to be a useful reference in sustaining schools’ readiness in terms of curriculum design. Curriculum defined as a complex, dynamic, and contested entity that is not limited to a prescribed set of content or outcomes, but it shaped by various actors and forces, including policy, culture, history, and social context.

Are STEM Students Creative Thinkers?

Scholarly research has increasingly examined the role of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, and that of creativity as a transversal skill. However, far fewer studies have investigated the relationship between the two, particularly in secondary-school contexts, and they have obtained inconsistent results. This paper contributes to the literature by asking: To what extent is studying STEM associated with higher levels of creativity in a secondary-school context? The study utilises a pre-existing dataset gathered in Malta (EU) from some 400 students aged between 11 and 16 years old. It yields information on both the engagement in STEM (measured by exposure to STEM chosen by students as optional subjects, and the enjoyment of STEM considered by students to be their favourite subjects), as well as creativity levels (measured by Divergent Thinking performance on Alternate Uses Tests). Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive link between the two phenomena, lending support to the notion that STEM students tend to be more creative than other students. Using regression analysis, a model is estimated to identify the possible effects of engaging in STEM subjects on creativity, once the other co-determinants of creativity are controlled. The results indicate that both the exposure to STEM subject/s and enjoyment thereof significantly and positively predict creativity, even after controlling for the other possible determinants of creativity (such as age, gender, parental education, and participation in creative activities). These findings offer encouraging insights into 21st century education and for curriculum development as they suggest that, in addition to having value in their own right, STEM subjects can contribute to the development of creativity in young people.