Attitudes Towards Science in STEM Education: Construction of a Scale to Identify and Promote Early Vocations

Abstract

This article describes the process of construction and development of the ACESTEM scale to measure attitudes towards science in STEM Education in students between the age of 10 and 14. After performing content validity by expert judgment, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the scale was carried out in a sample of 408 students (210 girls and 198 boys). This offered a structure of four factors (Liking for science, Professional interest in science, Self-efficacy and Perceived usefulness of science) with 24 items and a McDonald's Omega with a reliability of .909. The subsequent confirmatory analysis (CFA) carried out on a different sample of 295 students (114 girls and 181 boys) confirmed the four-factor structure, obtaining satisfactory fit indices and a McDonald's Omega with a reliability of .917, leaving a 21-item scale. The analysis of the results allows us to verify a decrease in the interest of students in science as they grow older, as well as the influence of the mother with a STEM profession on self-efficacy, especially in female students. The ACESTEM scale can help teachers and guidance practitioners in educational centers to identify those students’ beliefs that affect relevant decisions about the choice of possible itineraries related to STEM Education, as well as to promote actions that would have a positive impact on the quality of teaching to achieve STEM Education for all.