An examination into the effect of primary school STEM activities on values education

STEM is a program that deals with the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as a whole, and provides the development of individuals' competitiveness, contribution to the production of the country, STEM literacy and 21st century skills via a multidisciplinary approach. Values education is one of the most important teaching situations in the education system. Values should be taught through the education system so that the students can grow up as individuals who are committed to individual and social values as well as successful individuals. Values Education aims to provide very important moral and civil values such as patience, self-control, respect, love, responsibility, virtue, courage, faith, perseverance, justice and individual discipline for the individuals. This study examines the effect of STEM activities implemented with 4th grade primary school students on Values education. The participants were twenty students at a village school in Hakkari, Yüksekova. The study was created with STEM activities carried out for 6 weeks. In terms of the methodological framework, the study adopted a case study design, which is one of the qualitative research approaches. A case study is an approach that involves collecting data in line with a certain logic about how a certain system works and investigating it in detail (Creswell, 2015). The data collection tools included student diaries, field notes, and parent interviews. The qualitative data obtained from the research were described according to the content analysis method. The expressions and attitudes that the students use more in their utterances and behaviors during and at the end of the activities were presented in tables. When the expressions and attitudes of the students were examined, it was determined that STEM activities had positive contributions to the students' core values for values education.