A gender gap persists in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Although females constitute half the total workforce in the United States, they make up just greater than a quarter of employees in STEM fields. In recent years, one approach to addressing the gender gap in STEM has involved middle grades science…

This mixed-methods study examined the relationship between middle level science students' perceptions of teacher-student interactions and students' science motivation, particulary their efficacy, value, and goal orientation for learning science. In this sequential explanatory design, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in two phases,…