Adaptation of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS) into Turkish

Abstract

Problem Statement: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has recently become a remarkable research topic, especially in developed countries as a result of the skilled workforce required in the fields of the STEM. Considering that professional tendencies are revealed at early ages, determining students' interest in STEM careers is important for Turkey's workforce. The question, "How can Turkish middle school students' interest in STEM careers be determined?" constitutes the problem statement of this study. Purpose of the Study:The aim of this study is to adapt the STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS), which is a type of 5-point-Likert scale, into Turkish. The survey consists of 44 questions, and includes science, technology, mathematics, and engineering sub-dimensions.Method: Items were independently translated into Turkish by the authors after necessary permissions were received. Afterwards, the authors reached a consensus about the Turkish meanings of each items. The items were reviewed and edited by English and Turkish field experts to ensure validity. The survey was administered to 1,033 middle school students (grades 5-8). The data were analyzed by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in the AMOS program. The reliability of the scale, as well as its sub-* Dr., Yusuf Demir Science and Art Center, Kirsehir, Turkey, zeynepko.unlu@gmail.com ** Corresponding author: Prof. Dr., Gazi Universty, Gazi Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education, Ankara, Turkey, ilbilgedokme@gazi.edu.tr *** Gazi Osman Ozturk Secondary School, Boztepe/Kirsehir, Turkey, unluveli42@gmail.com 22 Zeynep Koyunlu Unlu, Ilbilge Dokme, & Veli Unludimensions, was calculated in the SPSS program (Cronbach's alpha and Mc-Donald's omega). To test criterion validity, correlation values were calculated between scores of the STEM-CIS and Interest in Science Scale (ISS). The test-retest method and item analysis were carried out. Also corrected item-total correlation values were determined. Findings:A scale, which consists of 40 items and four sub-dimensions including science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, was obtained as a result of the analysis. The Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was calculated as 0.93 for the whole scale, 0.86 for the science sub-dimension, 0.88 for the technology sub-dimension, 0.94 for the engineering sub-dimension, and 0.90 for its mathematics subdimension. Conclusion and Recommendations:The scale adapted into Turkish can be used to assess middle school students' interest in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering careers. However, each sub-dimension of the scale can also be administered separately to determine middle school students' interest.

Identification of the Interest of Turkish Middle-School Students in Stem Careers: Gender and Grade Level Differences

“…In the research, the questionnaire developed by Kier et al (2014) and adapted in Turkish by Unlu et al (2016) was used to identify STEM career interest of middle-school students. The questionnaire adapted to Turkish was of a "5-point Likert scale" (strongly disagree to strongly agree) and consisted of four sub-dimensions as science, technology, engineering and mathematics and a total of 40 questions with 10 questions in each sub-dimension.…”

“…The questionnaire adapted to Turkish was of a "5-point Likert scale" (strongly disagree to strongly agree) and consisted of four sub-dimensions as science, technology, engineering and mathematics and a total of 40 questions with 10 questions in each sub-dimension. The questionnaire's total Cronbach's alpha value was stated as .93 and the value of the sub-dimensions was stated successively as .86, .88, .94 and .90 (Unlu et al, 2016). In this research, questionnaire was given to 368 8th grade students and its validity and reliability researches were completed.…”

Impacts of the project based (PBL) science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education on academic achievement and career interests of vocational high school students

“…Especially with combination of engineering and education processes, it enables recognizing talented students at an early age to improve their STEM skills as well as increasing the demand for career preferences in these fields (Koyunlu Ünlü, Dökme & Ünlü, 2016). STEM education increases the enthusiasm of students in the related activities at primary school level and ensures self-confidence and self-fulfillment in science and mathematics courses as well as interests in these courses (Dejarnette, 2012).…”

“…Özellikle mühendislik ve eğitim süreçlerinin kombinasyonuyla, bu alanlardaki kariyer tercihlerine talebi artırabilmesinin yanında, STEM alanlarındaki becerilerini geliştirmeleri için yetenekli öğrencilerin erken yaşlarda fark edilmesini de sağlar (Koyunlu Ünlü, Dökme & Ünlü, 2016). STEM eğitimleri, ilkokul düzeyinde ilgili faaliyetlerde bulunan öğrencilerin heyecanını artırır, fen ve matematik derslerinde kendine güvenmelerini ve kendi kendilerine yetebilmelerini sağlar; aynı zamanda bu derslerdeki çıkarlarını da yükseltir (Dejarnette, 2012).…”

STEM Career Preferences of the Anatolian High School Students from Different Socioeconomic Levels

“…However, performing the studies that shall guide the activities related to the careers of the students at high school level shall provide guidance both for consultancy activities in high schools and for the state policies. In the related literature in our country, in recent years, there are also studies related to the STEM careers (Korkut-Owen & Mutlu, 2016;, 2018Koyunlu Unlu, Dokme, & Unlu, 2016;Yerdelen, Kahraman, & Tas, 2016). Looking at these research, it can be seen that there is a need for studies in the related literature on STEM careers in our country.…”