The effect of gender equal STEM education on female students

This study aims to examine the effects of gender-equal engineering design- focused STEM activities developed in accordance with the science curriculum on female students' engineering design self-efficacy and engineering image. For this purpose, gender-equal STEM activities were developed within the framework of six criteria and carried out with collaborative learning. The special case study method was adopted as the research method in the study and was carried out with 20 students studying in the 7th grade. Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale, Engineer Draw Test, researcher's diary and end-of-activity evaluation forms were used as data collection tools. Quantitative data obtained in the application were analyzed with Jamovi (2.2.2) package program; qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis. According to the findings, gender-equal STEM activities increased the engineering design self-efficacy of both girls and boys. In terms of gender, there was a greater increase in the engineering design self-efficacy of girls than boys. In addition, the engineering image of girls and boys has developed positively and students' engineering knowledge has increased. However, while the perception that engineering is masculine continues in men's gender perception of engineering, the perception that women can also be engineers has developed in girls. In line with these results, it is recommended that gender-equal STEM activities be implemented in science courses in order to develop the engineering design self-efficacy and engineering image of girls and boys.