DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF STEM CAREERS MODULE FOR FOSTERING STEM CAREERS KNOWLEDGE, SELF-EFFICACY, AND INTEREST

Abstract

This study aims at developing a STEM Careers module and testing its effectiveness for middle school students. The current study developed a STEM careers education module by embedding STEM and careers education. The first phase of study was Module Development in which STEM Careers Module was developed on the theoretical grounds of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Kolb’s Experiential Learning cycle. The second phase of study was implementation of the module as an intervention with grade 8 students. The sample consisted of 33 students from two private schools of Islamabad, Pakistan. The study design was mixed method sequential explanatory. Quantitative data was collected before and after the intervention using STEM Career Interest scale, STEM Self-efficacy Scale, and STEM Careers Knowledge Test. Qualitative data was collected post-intervention through focus group discussions with the participants. Findings revealed that after the intervention, there was significant increase in student’s STEM career interest, knowledge, and self-efficacy. ANCOVA was used to statistically control gender, academic achievement, and parents STEM occupation but none of these factors had significant effect on the outcome variables. Moreover, students with high prior STEM career knowledge reported an increase in STEM career interest. Results for both schools varied on subscale level and it revealed that the intervention was more effective for school B where students had low Prior STEM Career Knowledge. The study presents strong implications as it offers a STEM Education resource in the form of STEM Careers module. It also presents evidence for the use of SCCT and Kolb’s experiential learning cycle for STEM programs. It also has implications for Teachers and Educators as it demonstrated the significance of hands-on activities and careers information for students. Lack of control group is a limitation in the current research and future research can investigate the effectiveness of module with control group and sample which has equal malefemale ratio.