A study of the correlation between STEM career knowledge, mathematics self-efficacy, career interests, and career activities on the likelihood of pursuing a STEM career among middle school students

Blotnicky, Karen; Franz‐Odendaal, Tamara A.; French, F. G.; Joy, Phillip

doi:10.1186/s40594-018-0118-3

Cited by 192 publications

(167 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Out of the six published in 2017, three are on mathematics education (Hagman et al 2017;Keller et al 2017;Ulrich and Wilkins 2017) and the other three on either teacher professional development (Borko et al 2017;Jacobs et al 2017) or connection with engineering (Jehopio and Wesonga 2017). For the five published in 2018, two are on mathematics education (Beumann and Wegner 2018;Wilkins and Norton 2018) and the other three have close association with other disciplines in STEM (Blotnicky et al 2018;Hayward and Laursen 2018;Nye et al 2018). This trend likely reflects a growing interest, with close connection to mathematics, in both mathematics education community and a broader STEM education community of developing and sharing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education

Li¹,

Schoenfeld²

2019

IJ STEM Ed

181

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Mathematics is fundamental for many professions, especially science, technology, and engineering. Yet, mathematics is often perceived as difficult and many students leave disciplines in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as a result, closing doors to scientific, engineering, and technological careers. In this editorial, we argue that how mathematics is traditionally viewed as "given" or "fixed" for students' expected acquisition alienates many students and needs to be problematized. We propose an alternative approach to changes in mathematics education and show how the alternative also applies to STEM education.

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education

Li¹,

Schoenfeld²

2019

IJ STEM Ed

181

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“…In the USA, Wang and Degol (2016) found six explanations for women's underrepresentation in STEM fields: (a) cognitive ability, (b) relative cognitive strengths, (c) occupational interests or preferences, (d) lifestyle values or work/family balance preferences, (e) field-specific ability beliefs, and (f) gender-related stereotypes and biases. As the size and composition of the STEM workforce continuously fails to meet the demand (Jang 2016;Wang & Degol, 2016), it is important to understand the barriers and factors that influence individual education and career choices (Blotnicky, Franz-Odendaal, French & Joy, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Students with higher mathematics self-efficacy and STEM career knowledge are more likely to choose a STEM career (Blotnicky et al 2018;. In addition, students' own beliefs that success in science depends on exceptional talent can negatively impact their motivation to learn as well as a lack of enjoyment and confidence (Lin-Siegler, Ahn, Chen, Fang, & Luna-Lucero, 2016;Wu, Deshler, & Fuller, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ reasons for STEM choices and the relationship of mathematics choice to university admission

et al. 2019

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Background: Despite the increasing need for STEM skills, to date, the connection between STEM subject choices and their impact on students' educational pathways has not been widely studied. Focusing on the mathematics choice (basic/advanced/no mathematics), a large register dataset that covered students admitted to Finnish universities during 2013-2015 (N = 46,281) was combined with upper-secondary school matriculation examination data (N = 93,955) to find out how this choice influenced the students' university admissions. This large dataset was also examined to establish the current gender distributions in different university degree programs from the perspective of mathematics choices. Further, to find out the students' reasons behind their mathematics choices, a cohort sample of 802 student responses was collected from upper-secondary schools. We also investigated the students' interests in different fields of study to establish any gender differences in them. Results: The register data analysis suggested that in Finland, students' mathematics choices had a strong influence on the university admission outcomes. For instance, only 33% of the upper-secondary school graduates took the advanced mathematics ME test in 2013-2015, yet the number of those admitted to universities who had taken the advanced mathematics ME test was 55%. Most of the university degree programs were female dominated, yet the university students with advanced mathematics were mostly male, and especially the STEM fields in the Finnish universities were male dominated. As for the reasons behind the mathematics choices, students who chose advanced mathematics believed in its usefulness for their future studies and careers. We also found significant gender-based educational differences regarding all the study fields, with STEM careers attracting more males than females. Conclusion: Advanced mathematics was highly valued in Finnish universities, and many students chose advanced mathematics believing in its usefulness for their future studies or careers. Yet, their further study interests and career plans were segregated by gender. As there is a rising need for STEM skills, we must seek effective ways to deliver the evolving possibilities of STEM fields to students, especially girls, during the earlier years of their educations.

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“…In this next phase of the project, the inclusion of STEM career and educational opportunities as well as enhanced computer science experiences have been added because research indicates that these are educational areas that need bolstering, especially in the middle school students. Exposure to STEM careers can elevate student interest in pursuing careers involving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Blotnicky, Franz-Odendaal, French, & Phillip, 2018). Emphasis must be placed on the inclusiveness of underrepresented populations in the STEM fields.…”

Section: Figure 2 the Billion Oyster Project -Curriculum And Communimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of creating a thriving STEM workforce in the United States has been promoted for the last decade. Studies have shown that capturing students' interest must occur before they enter high school, ideally in the middle school years (Blotnicky, Franz-Odendaal, French, & Phillip, 2018). Teachers are the conduits for encouraging students to explore STEM-related career options.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science S.T.E.M. + C Professional Learning Model: Expansion and Enhancement

Birney¹,

McNamara²

2019

JCT

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Professional Development in the field of education has undergone several shifts in focus. Currently, teacher content knowledge and the ability to disseminate this knowledge is the focus in professional learning communities. The importance of creating a thriving STEM workforce in the United States has been promoted for the last decade. Studies have shown that capturing students' interest must occur before they enter high school, ideally in the middle school years (Blotnicky, Franz-Odendaal, French, & Phillip, 2018). Teachers are the conduits for encouraging students to explore STEM-related career options. Student engagement is piqued when there is a strong real-world connection to the content being presented. Students find relevance through actual experience with the concepts and skills incorporated in projects that are community-based. The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science STEM + C Project is the marriage of these two components. The professional development of the New York City middle school teachers involved in the CCERS STEM +C Project furnishes these educators with the tools to stimulate students' interest by tackling a problem in their local community using STEM-related content and computational thinking. The hope is that authenticity of the learning experience will entice all students, especially those under-represented populations in the STEM workforce, to consider this as a viable career pathway. The analysis of this project is intended to highlight the significant inroads made and the value of self-reflection and re-design in strengthening the work as it continues.

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A study of the correlation between STEM career knowledge, mathematics self-efficacy, career interests, and career activities on the likelihood of pursuing a STEM career among middle school students

Cited by 192 publications

References 37 publications

Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education

Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education

Students’ reasons for STEM choices and the relationship of mathematics choice to university admission

The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science S.T.E.M. + C Professional Learning Model: Expansion and Enhancement

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