Duration: 2019 – 2023
Principal Researcher
Mónica Baptista
CI&DEI´s Principal Researcher
Paulo Maurício
Research line:
Educational Policies, Didactics and Training
There is a widespread perception that young people tend not to pursue careers and studies in the STEM field. The reasons generally cited are: lack of interest in the area of science, low perception of self-efficacy, lack of motivation, devalued images of science and scientists, regardless of the students' abilities, resources and the quality of schools. In Portugal, studies by PISA and the ROSE project suggest a reasonable interest in science among students at the end of the basic cycle and a taste for science topics. However, data from the General Directorate of Education and Science Statistics indicate that students tend to opt less for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics areas than Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce and Law. Taking into account the global scenario , a series of initiatives have emerged that seek to reformulate curricula, or create learning environments that explore the connections between Science, Mathematics, Technology and Engineering, seeking to make science more relevant for students, through the promotion of connections between schools and informal contexts (such as companies, universities, museums) and, above all, seeking to integrate STEM into the student's world. Studies show that STEM experiences have positive impacts on students' self-efficacy and interest in STEM areas and on their intentions to pursue studies and scientific careers. However, studies also reveal ambiguous results regarding the learning of scientific concepts. Furthermore, many of these studies focus essentially on informal teaching contexts and the immediate effects on students' interests and self-efficacy. However, will a single STEM experience be enough to change students' attitudes and interest in science? And will these changes be lasting? This study seeks to answer these questions, aiming to evaluate the impact of the STEM approach on learning Physics, on students' motivation to learn science and on their interest in STEM professions.