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The Relations and Role of Social Competencies and Belonging with Math and Science Interest and Efficacy for Adolescents in Informal STEM Programs
- Source :
- Journal of Youth and Adolescence
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Adolescence represents a developmental period of waning academic motivation, particularly in STEM domains. To combat this, better understanding the factors that might foster STEM motivation and interest is of importance. Social factors like social competencies and feelings of belonging become increasingly important in adolescence. The current study investigated structural relations between social competencies, feelings of belonging to an informal STEM learning program, math and science efficacy and interest in a sample of 268 adolescents (Mage = 15.25; 66.8% girls; 42.5% White British or European American, 25.7% South Asian British or Asian American, 15.7% Afro-Caribbean Black British or African American 5.6% Bi-racial, and 3.0% other). Adolescents were recruited from six different informal learning sites (e.g., science museums, zoos, or aquariums) in the United States (n = 147) and the United Kingdom (n = 121). The results revealed positive relations between social competencies and belonging, and between belonging and math and science efficacy and interest. Further, the results also indicated a positive indirect effect of social competencies on efficacy and interest, via belonging. These findings have implications for guiding informal STEM programming in ways that can enhance STEM motivation and interest.
- Subjects :
- Belonging
Social Psychology
Adolescent
common
media_common.quotation_subject
Empirical Research
Education
Developmental psychology
Social competencies
Social Skills
Informal learning context
Empirical research
Asian americans
FOS: Mathematics
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Math and science efficacy
Ethnicity
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
media_common
Motivation
05 social sciences
common.demographic_type
050301 education
Informal learning
Black British
United Kingdom
United States
Legal psychology
Health psychology
Feeling
Female
Math and science interest
Psychology
0503 education
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Mathematics
050104 developmental & child psychology
White British
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Youth and Adolescence
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e4910eb26337b045114476ad76f99339