Gender stereotypes about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are salient for children and adolescents and contribute to achievement-related disparities and inequalities in STEM participation. However, few studies have used a longitudinal design to examine changes in gender stereotypes across a range of STEM fields. In a large,…

Increasing and diversifying participation in science remains a key educational policy concern for governments across the world. "Science capital" has been proposed as a useful theoretical lens that can explain patterns in science aspirations among young people aged 11-16 -- but to date it has not been explored in relation to educational…

The lack of interest among pre-university students to choose STEM subjects for their higher education is a heavily debated issue in many western-world countries. To boost Danish students' interest in biology, a study event on artificial reefs was introduced when teaching marine biology in lower secondary school and upper secondary school (student…

In this paper, we use dimensions of the construct "science identity" as an analytic lens to tap into the motivation and learning of science center visits. This exploratory empirical study was based on a large international dataset drawn from 10 science centers in countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, to investigate the…

Recently, the literature has repeatedly reported an interesting decrease in science and technology (S&T) among youngsters, and a drop of students choosing professions related to these knowledge areas. This study pursued to assess the interest of primary and secondary pupils in specific fields of S&T and to relate this interest to their…

Introduction: Interest in understanding the decline in positive attitudes to science and technology (S&T) among children and young people has led to numerous studies in recent years. Some research has focused on how personal characteristics of children and young people and other demographic and sociocultural factors influence the development…

Context-based approaches can bridge the gap between abstract, difficult science concepts and the world students live in. However, the relevance of specific contexts to different groups of learners, and its stability over time, have not been extensively explored. This study used four datasets, collected in different formal and informal settings, to…

In order to explore students' interest towards S&T, we developed and validated a questionnaire that simultaneously takes into account 18 components (general interest in school-S&T, utility of school-S&T, teaching methods preferences, perceived importance and preference for school-S&T with respect to other school subjects, etc.).…

One way to increase students' participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is to target their motivation. Researchers have conducted a growing number of interventions addressing students' motivation in STEM; however, this body of work has not been adequately reviewed. We systematically reviewed experimental and…

The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to the persistence of university seniors pursuing a baccalaureate degree and preparing for medical school admission. This topic is important as a vast majority of students who begin their undergraduate studies identifying as "pre-med" change this objective early in their academic…

Nearly 5,000 self-generated science-related K-12 students' questions, classified into seven science subjects, were used to quantitatively measure the gender gap in science interests and its change with age. In this data set, a difference between boys' and girls' science interests did not exist during early childhood, but increased over 20-fold by…

Students' attitudes towards natural science constitute an important area in science education as fewer students are interested in natural science and they do not choose corresponding science disciplines in postsecondary education. The current study reports preliminary results of a survey on high school students' interests and attitudes towards…

The issue of female underrespresentation in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology careers and courses has been well researched over the last several decades. However, as gender gaps in achievement close and representation becomes more equitable in certain academic domains, research has turned to social and cultural factors to explain…

This study explores interest in physics, chemistry and biology among school students in Kerala. It used a sample of 3236 (1659 boys, 1577 girls) students studying in upper primary to higher secondary classes. Three separate versions of scale of interest in science were used to quantify interest in science of upper primary, secondary and higher…

The purposes of this study were to validate an instrument of attitudes toward science and to investigate grade level, type of school, and gender differences in Taiwan's students' personality traits and attitudes toward science as well as predictors of attitudes toward science. Nine hundred and twenty-two elementary students and 1,954 secondary…