Incorporating authentic engineering practices into educative experiences in elementary school has the potential to positively impact student consideration of STEM careers and increase student self-efficacy in later engineering study. Additionally, as students move from primary to secondary grades, their interest in STEM topics tends to decline. To…

Using voluntary and anonymous surveys, we have collected answers from more than 700 high school students about the types and sources of help they received with their science and engineering fair projects, the obstacles they encountered, the strategies they used to overcome obstacles, and the impact of science fairs on their interest in science and…

As innovation has gained importance worldwide, educating students as individuals with innovative qualities has become imperative. Therefore, identifying students' perceptions of innovativeness in science lessons has become an issue of concern. The aim of this study was to determine secondary school students' perceptions of innovativeness. The…

In Turkey, science festivals have become more widespread and have begun to be organized especially in secondary schools. The aim of this research was to determine and compare the science festival attitudes of students participating as observers in 4006 TUBITAK science fairs organized at schools. In the research, descriptive survey was employed.…

Science and Engineering (S&E) fairs are a valuable educational activity and are believed to increase students' engagement and learning in science and engineering. However, due to differences in resources, many schools do not implement fairs to achieve these benefits for their students. This study reports the findings of a program intended to…

Science fairs offer potential opportunities for students to learn first-hand about the practices of science. Over the past six years we have been carrying out voluntary and anonymous surveys with regional and national groups of high school and post high school students to learn about their high school science fair experiences regarding help…

The goal of our ongoing research is to identify strengths and weaknesses of high school level science fair and improvements that can help science educators make science fair a more effective, inclusive and equitable learning experience. In this paper, we confirm and extend our previous findings in several important ways. We added new questions to…

High school students need more comprehensive scientific inquiry learning instruction through research ethics education. Yet, this topic is often overlooked in the science curriculum. To collect basic data to guide research ethics education for high school students, this study documents the kinds of research misconduct students commit, the contexts…

The purpose of this present action research study was to describe secondary students' feelings of self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Through a curriculum linked to a science fair project, the teacher-researcher focused on student-participants' perceptions of perseverance and task completion linked to STEM…

Science festivals have been reported as an effective way to communicate science between scientists and the public; however, only a few studies have examined systematically and consistently how the festivals effect the public's conceptions of science. Moreover, few studies about science festivals for special education students are conducted. This…

This mixed methods research explored the autonomous experiences of South African school students when participating in a science fair. A prominent global goal for school science education is for students to partake in scientific inquiry in order to acquire understanding of science concepts, the processes and skills of science, and the nature of…

We describe two established STEM camps that went virtual following the outbreak of COVID-19 during the summer of 2020. Our Summer Research Opportunity (SRO) camp engages middle school science fair winners in a forensic research opportunity, while The Immokalee Foundation (TIF) camp introduces middle school students from historically…

Using social cultural career theory (SCCT) linked with tenets of equity, we examined the role of participation in science and engineering fairs (SEFs) on youth's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational and career choices. We analyzed data for evidence of the SCCT constructs of self-efficacy, interest, and learning…

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted to identify students' perceptions of science and scientists since the 1950s. Those studies have revealed that students have stereotypical perceptions, on which teachers may have a significant effect. It is, therefore, essential to determine both teachers' and students' perceptions. Purpose: The aim…

Recent trends show the number of students studying geography in upper secondary school is declining. Among the reasons identified is that geography is perceived as a very tedious and difficult subject to study. With the rapid development of technology in the twenty-first century, the use of multi-media tools and technologies in education have…