Investigation of secondary school students' self-efficacy for STEM activities

With the STEM education approach, it is aimed to raise qualified individuals who can create competitive power on a global scale. The high self-efficacy of the students in STEM disciplines will ensure that the goals are achieved smoothly. From this point of view, it is aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale that can measure secondary school students' self-efficacy for STEM activities. In addition, it was aimed to examine secondary school students' self-efficacy for STEM activities in terms of different variables. The research, in which the scanning method, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used, was carried out with 786 (N1=445; N2=341) secondary school students in the 2022-2023 academic year. In the scale development process; The steps of scanning the literature, creating the item pool, ensuring the content and face validity, creating the draft scale form, making the first application, making the item analysis, ensuring the construct validity, making the second application, ensuring the construct validity and calculating the reliability were implemented respectively. As a result of the research; "STEM Activities Self-Efficacy Scale (STEM-EÖYÖ)" was developed, in which the χ2/df value and the model-structure fit perfectly and it fits well according to the CFI and TLI values with a reliability coefficient of (0.939). In addition, as a result of the research, it was stated that the secondary school students' STEM activities self-efficacy scores did not show a statistically significant difference according to the variables of gender, school type, class level and frequency of technological use. However, it was stated that the students' self-efficacy in STEM activities differed statistically according to their achievement scores. Considering the results obtained within the scope of the research; It can be said that the developed scale can be used in studies to be carried out to determine students' STEM activities self-efficacy. In addition, it is suggested that different studies (training, courses, etc.) can be carried out to improve students' STEM activities self-efficacy.