High School Students that Consider Choosing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Fields for their University Education

KIZILAY E., YAMAK H., KAVAK N.

Science Education International, cilt.30, sa.1, ss.4-10, 2019 (Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 30 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2019
  • Dergi Adı: Science Education International
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4-10
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: and mathematics fields, engineering, gender, high school students, profession selection, science, technology, university preference
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The purposes of this study were to determine whether the departments that high school students consider choosing for their university education belong to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields or not and to reveal the relationship between their choice and gender, grade, and type of institution. The research was conducted during the second semester of 2016-2017 academic year with 2129 students from five public schools located in the Kocasinan and Melikgazi districts of the Kayseri Province in Turkey. Data were collected through a survey instrument requesting students' demographic information and the departments that they selected for university education. Afterward, the departments mentioned by the students were coded as STEM-related and STEM-unrelated departments. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 22.0 Statistic Software and frequencies, percentages, and Chi-square analysis were employed. Significant relationships were found between grade, gender, type of institution, and considering STEM-related department for university education. As a result, this study recommends that informative and stimulating activities involving STEM departments of universities should be organized for senior high school students to promote STEM fields.