Stem education in elementary gradesdesign of an effective framework for improving attitudes towards school science

Resum

This doctoral thesis reports the iterative process of designing, implementing and evaluating a pedagogical framework rooted in the constructivist and socio-constructivist theories of learning, and in the tripartite model of attitudes, which provides generalizable guidelines on the characteristics of an authentic, valid and plausible STEM education that possesses the potential to enhance elementary school students attitudes towards school science. A total of 894 students enrolled in 3rd to 6th grades of elementary education participated in the development of this educational approach. The results of the intervention suggest that the proposed STEM pedagogical framework improves students expectancies of success un school science, enjoyment of school science lessons, self-efficacy in school science, and their intention to enroll in future science subjects, without differential effects in terms of gender variable.