Relationship of Middle School Student STEM Interest to Career Intent

Year 2017, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 1 - 13, 31.01.2017

Rhonda Christensen Gerald Knezek

https://doi.org/10.21891/jeseh.275649

Cited By: 14

Abstract

Understanding
middle school students’ perceptions regarding STEM dispositions, and the role
attitudes play in establishing STEM career aspirations, is imperative to
preparing the STEM workforce of the future. Data were gathered from more than
800 middle school students participating in a hands-on, real world application
curriculum to examine the relationship of the students’ interest in STEM and
their intentions to pursue a career in a STEM field. Among the middle school students who completed surveys for the MSOSW
project, 46.6% expressed a desire to pursue a career in STEM at the time of the
post test. Regarding alignment of positive interest in STEM with intent
to purse a STEM career, middle school students who have stated that they plan
to pursue a career in STEM, also show higher dispositions toward STEM and STEM
career measures. Gender differences were also examined, resulting in the
finding that middle school males generally have greater intent to pursue a
career in STEM, and also show more positive interest in STEM areas. However,
females appear to more positively react to the project activities presented in
this study than males, so over the course of a project year females tend to
“catch up.” This is true regarding assessed STEM interest as well as stated
intent to pursue a career in STEM. These findings provide additional
contributions to the growing base of knowledge about the importance of middle
school aspirations for STEM careers.

Keywords

STEM Education, STEM interest, Career intent, Gender, Climate change

References

• Christensen, R. & Knezek, G. (2017). Relationship of middle school student STEM interest to career intent. Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health (JESEH), 3(1), 1-13.