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Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students’ interest in life sciences based careers is influence by their self-efficacy and perceptions of the career. Meanwhile, students’ interest in physical sciences based careers is influence only by their self-efficacy and not influence by their perceptions of the career. The need to improve students’ self-efficacy through STEM learning experiences is imperative to ensure continued interest in STEM careers. Key words: environmental factors, life sciences STEM careers, perceptions of STEM careers, physical sciences STEM careers, self-efficacy, social cognitive career theory.

The purpose of the study was to determine the students' error in learning quadratic equation. The samples were 30 form three students from a secondary school in Jambi, Indonesia. Diagnostic test was used as the instrument of this study that included three components: factorization, completing the square and quadratic formula. Diagnostic interview was also used to identify at which level students' errors occur in solving problems. The type of error is based on Newman Error Hierarchy Model that includes reading type error, comprehension, transformation, process skill, and encoding error. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics: percentage and frequency. The findings showed that most students make error in transformation and process skill in solving quadratic equations. There was no error found in reading. The number of students who made encoding error and carelessness was small. The students' error in solving quadratic equation was due to their weaknesses in mastering topics such as algebra, fractions, negative numbers and algebraic expansions.

This study conducted to determine the mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) based on gender and teaching experience. In this research, 66 mathematics teachers from national secondary schools were chosen as the samples to answer a survey questionnaire containing 71 items with a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, such as mean, percentage, and standard deviation, were employed to analyze the data. T-test was used to gauge the mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and TPACK based on gender, and one-way ANOVA was employed to determine mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and TPACK based on teaching experience. Besides, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and TPACK. The findings showed no significant difference between genders and the teaching experience of the mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy and TPACK. However, mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and TPACK were strongly associated. In conclusion, whether male or female, for as long as mathematics teachers had been working, they have a positive self-efficacy in initiating technology integration and introducing TPACK. The implication was gender and teaching experience were not a critical factor for mathematics teacher’s self-efficacy of technology integration and TPACK. For future research related to this study, it could introduce other factors, such as academic qualification and technology courses they had attended.

The implementation of problem-based learning method in education within various disciplines of knowledge cannot be denied. The method is able to improve the traditional learning paradigm accommodating to the 21st century learning. The main aim of this review is to investigate the findings of studies related to the disciplines involving Problem Based Learning and its effects on education. The study uses a systematic approach analysis and synthesizes 43 articles from the year 2015 until 2018 including peer review articles and full text articles from ERIC and Google Scholar. It shows that the quantitative approach is the most used research method in investigating the disciplines applying PBL and the effects of such method towards education. This review involves various levels of education that use PBL as a method of teaching and learning. Overall, the results of this study show that Mathematics education is the discipline that uses PBL the most in teaching and learning. By and large, 95% of its users believe that PBL has positive impacts towards education and can be used as an alternative method at any level of education.