The effect of scientific inquiry-based STEAM education on middle school students' academic success, vocational interest, STEAM attitudes and scientific creativity

With the reforms in education, it has become important to raise students who can deal with the current complex problems. For this purpose, STEAM education has started to come to the forefront with the inclusion of the art component that supports creativity and scientific inquiry together with STEM applications in various curricula. Although there is no specific trend in STEAM studies in the field of science in our country, it has been seen that the existing applications are not sufficient. In the current research, STEAM education modules based on scientific inquiry was created and its effects on the perceptions, attitudes, academic success, scientific creativity, vocational interests and views of middle school students on the unit of "Interaction of Light with Matter" were examined. The sample of the study consisted of 44 students studying in a middle school affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the Yavuzeli district of Gaziantep. The research was conducted using mixed embedded design. While a pre-test post-test control group design was used in the quantitative part, an interpretive approach was adopted in the qualitative part. Quantitative data were collected using the Interaction of Light with Matter Academic Achievement Test, STEAM Perception Scale, and STEAM Attitude Scale. Qualitative data were collected using Scientific Creativity Rubric, Vocational Interest Inventory, Views on Scientific Inquiry Scale, and semi-structured STEAM interview questions. Quantitative data showing normal distribution were examined with parametric tests, while qualitative data were analyzed by themes and codes through descriptive analysis. As a result of the study, inquiry-based STEAM education significantly improved the perceptions, attitudes, academic achievements, and scientific creativity of the students in the experimental group compared to the control group. Vocational interest and views on scientific inquiry were generally positively affected by the STEAM education. It was concluded that the qualitative data mostly supported the quantitative data and that the students' experiences of STEAM education based on scientific inquiry met the outcomes of the application.