Many studies have investigated students' attitudes toward engineering (ATE), but few have examined the changes in attitudes after attending an engineering design curriculum. This study analyzes these attitudinal changes in students attending an engineering-focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (EF-STEM) curriculum and…

Mathematics is the language and foundation for the science, engineering, and technological fields that define and enhance our lives in the 21st century. Proficiency in math requires problem solving, logical reasoning, and critical thinking skills that are essential to success in college, the workplace, and everyday life. Unfortunately, math has…

This study examines secondary students' attitudes toward TVET. The public mindset of 3D illusions affects Malaysia's future aspirations for TVET. The purpose of this study is to understand why high school students do not value skills education as a means of improving their career prospects. A behavioral Insights approach was developed based on…

This three-manuscript dissertation in practice used improvement science as the methodological approach of disciplined inquiry into a problem of practice--the discrepancy of male and female participation in engineering design-based (EDB) courses and clubs in Starr School District. Manuscript 1 centered around diagnosing the problem and delved into…

Purpose: This study analyzes the contributions of the Healthy Waters educational program to the awareness and understanding of environmental issues related to water to generate changes in attitudes in the community. Design/Approach/Methods: A community school intervention was conducted in a public school in Paredes, Porto, Portugal. Using a…

The aim of this research is to provide an applied example that serves as a guide to social studies classrooms and directly supports the teachers who implement it, specifically for the social studies lesson. In the research planned as an action research, a group of 27 7th-grade students from a middle school was selected as the study group, and…

Socioscientific issues (SSIs) can provide a context to address societal decision-making processes in school. In recent years, studies have demonstrated that one effective way to deal with these topics is through role play. However, role plays may induce an unreflected attitude change based on the roles the participants take on, which raises…

This study explored 8 high school science teachers' experiences in an 8-week immersive research laboratory professional development program. The aim was to understand their motivation for participating and what factors influenced changes in beliefs about science instructions. Mentor scientists and their lab members hosted teachers for the duration…

Background: To address complex challenges of modern society, engineering education needs to help students develop sociotechnical perspectives of engineering. Research has documented efforts to incorporate sociotechnical thinking into undergraduate engineering education, but those perspectives must often compete with more dominant technocentric…

Research has documented the presence of norm misperception in the context of school bullying, as children and adolescents typically underestimate the degree to which their peers disapprove of bullying behavior. Despite commonly held attitudes in opposition to bullies and in support of helping victims, widespread misperception of the norm makes…

This qualitative, multicase study examined the perceived effect on teachers of an online professional development (PD) program supported by facilitators who provided extensive feedback to them. Our goal was to identify the barriers to teachers implementing their learning in their diverse contexts. Using inductive and deductive thematic analysis…

In this study, I explored how two Black high school students experienced a food justice curriculum and school-based gardening activities by examining student reflections, interviews, and classroom observations using a critical race theoretical framework. Findings suggested that in addition to learning key agricultural skills and concepts,…

Reforms such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for substantial change in teacher practice such as instruction that is more phenomenon-based, three-dimensional, supportive of student epistemic agency, and coherent from the student perspective. Such change requires ongoing support in the form of aligned curricular materials and…

Differentiated instruction focuses on students' readiness, interests, learning styles, and life circumstances, rather than a set curriculum. The perceptions faculty have about differentiated instruction can impact their willingness and ability to implement the practice in their classroom. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore,…

We examined the effects of applying the instructional method of constructive controversy in an animal welfare unit, on middle-school students' knowledge and attitudes relating to the treatment and welfare of animals. Accordingly, we developed and implemented a four-stage instructional model centring on constructive controversy in a class of 27…