Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science Education

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Daugherty, Michael

Committee Member/Reader

Imbeau, Marcia B.

Committee Member/Second Reader

Elsass, Angela

Abstract

In order to equip students with the 21st Century skills necessary for today’s society, STEM education must be properly implemented in school curricula (Lamb, Akmal, & Petrie, 2015). To do so, it is important for teachers to possess both proficient knowledge of the subject matter and confidence towards the implementation of STEM. A person’s beliefs about their ability is known as their self-efficacy (Bandura 1997). Related to education, Bandura notes that this self-efficacy affects a teacher’s views on their ability to handle tasks, obligations, and challenges related to a challenge (1997). Additionally, numerous studies indicate that this self-efficacy in turn affects actual performance in the classroom (Katzenmeyer & Lawrenz, 2006; Smith, Douglas, & Cox, 2009). With this in mind, this study was designed to survey teachers in the Northwest Arkansas area (Washington and Benton counties) and determine the extent to which STEM education and project-based learning is being implemented. In order to gain insight into the research questions, the researcher distributed the STEM Efficacy Survey Instrument to a random pool of elementary educators over a two week period in February 2021. This instrument surveyed elementary teachers on their previous background in STEM, their feelings towards their ability to implement STEM, and their actual implementation of STEM. From this research, the researcher concluded that higher training in STEM resulted in higher confidence in teachers ability which in turn resulted in higher rates of implementation. More research on the affects of self-efficacy on STEM implementation needs to be conducted in order to gain a more complete picture of what measures should be taken in order to increase teacher self-efficacy, and in turn increasing implementation.

Keywords

STEM; Science; Technology; Engineering; Mathematics; self-efficacy

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