Achieving STEM education success against the odds

Murphy, Steve

doi:10.1007/s41297-020-00110-8

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This paper uses data drawn from a larger research programme exploring practices contributing to STEM education success in rural schools (Murphy, 2020a(Murphy, , 2020b(Murphy, , 2021.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leadership practices contributing to STEM education success at three rural Australian schools

Murphy

2022

Aust. Educ. Res.

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The limited research into leading STEM education in rural schools internationally tends to adopt a deficit view, with a focus on the poor achievement and aspirations of rural students, difficulties recruiting and retaining STEM teachers, and issues of isolation and under-resourcing. Counter to this trend, this paper reports on research investigating leadership practices shaping STEM education at three high STEM-performing rural schools. High-performing rural schools in Victoria, Australia were identified through analysis of state-wide final year enrolment and achievement data in STEM related senior subjects. Three rural schools with relatively high STEM subject enrolments and achievement levels were selected for in-depth study. The theory of Practice Architectures guided thematic analysis of interviews with principals, middle leaders, and teachers, facilitating a description of the ways that leadership practices interacted with the Practice Architectures evident at each school, which, in turn, enabled and constrained practices that contributed to each school’s STEM education success. Five leadership practices were identified as contributing to STEM education success at all three schools: leveraging community relationships, utilising local resources to enrich STEM learning, empowering STEM teaching staff, promoting the value of STEM education, and supporting STEM pathways. In detailing these leadership practices, this paper provides guidance to rural education leaders and policy makers seeking to improve STEM education in rural schools.

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“…This paper uses data drawn from a larger research programme exploring practices contributing to STEM education success in rural schools (Murphy, 2020a(Murphy, , 2020b(Murphy, , 2021.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leadership practices contributing to STEM education success at three rural Australian schools

Murphy

2022

Aust. Educ. Res.

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“…Many young learners worldwide still lack exposure to STEM education in pre-university settings. This deficiency arises from countries' inadequate education policies that fail to effectively integrate STEM education, offer STEM courses and separate subjects without connections between STEM disciplines (Vahidy, 2019;Word Economic Forum, 2017) or lack knowledge regarding the value of STEM (Murphy, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Test anxiety's influence on attitudes, confidence and efficacy in STEM courses: a pilot study

Hyseni Duraku,

Hoxha,

Konjufca

et al. 2023

JRIT

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PurposeThis pilot study aims to examine the prevalence of test anxiety and its interplay with attitudes, confidence, efficacy, academic performance and socio-demographic factors within the domain of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a quantitative, cross-sectional design with 549 sixth-grade students from public lower secondary schools in Prishtina, Kosovo, using the Student Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (S-STEM) for middle/high schools and the test anxiety questionnaire.FindingsOver 70% of Kosovo's sixth-grade students reported moderate to severe test anxiety. The age of students was found to be inversely related to academic performance in STEM. The father's employment was associated with favorable STEM attitudes, confidence, efficacy and academic performance. Having a personal study environment was connected with favorable STEM attitudes, confidence and efficacy in STEM, whereas access to technology was associated with positive academic performance. Test anxiety, academic performance and personal study space predicted students' attitudes, confidence and efficacy in STEM and 21st-century learning.Practical implicationsEducational institutions should prioritize student well-being. By addressing test anxiety, these institutions can create supportive learning environments that improve attitudes, confidence and efficacy in STEM fields. These efforts are crucial for STEM career development and student success in the 21st-century workforce.Originality/valueThe current study findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing STEM student engagement and performance, highlighting the importance of addressing test anxiety for positive learning outcomes while emphasizing the need to consider socio-economic and contextual factors in education.

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“…However, the inclusion of rural students in STEM education is seriously impeded by various pedagogical challenges [3]. This is especially true as many researchers have documented STEM teachers' limited knowledge and experience to cater to the learning needs of rural students [4][5][6]. Accordingly, several models and frameworks highlighting the core principles of inclusive STEM education have been proposed, such as (a) Rosser's [7] female-friendly model, (b) Banks' [8] multiculturalism instructional model, (c) Kirch et al's [9] CLASS model, and (d) Kolonich, Richmond, and Krajcik's [10] inclusive instructional framework.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison Study between Universal Design for Learning-Multiple Intelligence (UDL-MI) Oriented STEM Program and Traditional STEM Program for Inclusive Education

et al. 2021

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The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model and Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory hold considerable promise for advancing inclusive education. However, the effectiveness of UDL and MI in supporting inclusive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has never been tested empirically. This study examined the impact of the UDL-MI-oriented STEM program on eighth-grade rural students’ attitudes towards STEM through mixed research design. A total of 122 students were selected through purposive sampling and randomly distributed into experimental (N = 62) and control groups (N = 60). The experimental group experienced STEM learning through the UDL-MI-oriented program and the control group received traditional classroom teaching. Both groups studied learning units on environmental sustainability and conservation for 10 weeks. Changes in students’ attitudes towards STEM were assessed over the time period (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) using an adapted Mahoney Student Attitude toward STEM instrument and individual interviews (post-test, follow-up). The results indicated that in comparison to the traditional classroom, the UDL-MI-oriented program significantly improved and maintained the students’ attitudes towards STEM. Next, the qualitative findings were presented to support the statistical analyses. This study provides empirical evidence for adopting the UDL-MI-oriented STEM program as an effective way of providing inclusive STEM education to rural students by enhancing their attitudes towards STEM.

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Achieving STEM education success against the odds

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Leadership practices contributing to STEM education success at three rural Australian schools

Leadership practices contributing to STEM education success at three rural Australian schools

Test anxiety's influence on attitudes, confidence and efficacy in STEM courses: a pilot study

A Comparison Study between Universal Design for Learning-Multiple Intelligence (UDL-MI) Oriented STEM Program and Traditional STEM Program for Inclusive Education

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