Middle and high school students' perceptions of STEM self-efficacy and career interest and problem solving skill

In this research, it was investigated whether the STEM self-efficacy perception, STEM career interest and problem solving skill levels of middle and high school students differ according to their gender, school level, education level of their mothers, education level of their fathers, academic achievement and the role models around them and the relationships between STEM self-efficacy perception, STEM career interest and problem solving skills were investigated. In the research, explanatory serial mixed method was used. The sample of the research consists of 8th and 12th grade students in the center of Elazığ. The quantitative part, in which the descriptive research approach was used, was carried out in accordance with the relational survey design, one of the survey models. In the qualitative part, the basic interpretive design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used to determine the students' STEM self-efficacy perceptions, STEM career interests and problem-solving skills in more detail. In the study, the "STEM Self-Efficacy Perception Scale" was developed by the researcher. The "STEM Career Interest Scale (STEM-CIS)" was used to measure students' STEM career interest levels. The "Problem Solving Inventory for Children" was used to measure students' problem solving skills. In order to collect the qualitative data of the research, a semi-structured interview form was prepared by the researcher. In the analysis of quantitative data, descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskal Wallis-H test, One-way ANOVA and Structural Equation Modeling were used. In the analysis of qualitative data, the descriptive analysis method was used. In the study, students' STEM self-efficacy perceptions differed significantly according to their gender, school level, educational level of their fathers, academic achievement and the presence of role models in their environment. It was determined that there was no difference according to the education level of their mothers. When students' STEM career interests were evaluated, it was determined that there was a significant difference in terms of all variables. While the problem solving skills of the students showed a significant difference in terms of their gender, school level and academic achievement, there was no difference in terms of the education level of their parents. It was determined in the study that students' STEM self-efficacy perception was a significant predictor of problem solving skills. It has been concluded that the qualitative results of the research support the quantitative results.