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Identifying Taiwanese Teachers’ Perceived Self-efficacy for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Knowledge

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Abstract

This study, first of all, aimed to develop a new survey to assess Taiwanese teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in STEM knowledge. Second, it aimed to probe any differences in teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in STEM knowledge regarding their gender and teaching subjects. Last, we examined the structural relations among teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in STEM knowledge and their attitudes toward STEM education. The participants were 220 high school teachers in Taiwan. The 30-item instrument consisted of six factors: scientific inquiry, technology use, engineering design, mathematical thinking, and synthesized knowledge of STEM, as well as attitudes toward STEM education. The results showed that the proposed instrument was valid and reliable. In addition, male teachers outperformed female teachers in each dimension of the survey. Last, teachers’ self-efficacy in synthesized knowledge of STEM had two mediating effects. One was in the relationship between self-efficacy in engineering design and attitudes toward STEM education. The other was in the relationship between self-efficacy in Mathematical Thinking and Attitudes toward STEM education.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the “Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences” of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan and was also supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under Grant Contract Numbers 106-2628-S-003 -002 -MY3 and 106-2628-S-020-001-MY3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program of Learning Sciences and Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Min-Hsien Lee

  2. Department of Child Care, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan

    Chung-Yuan Hsu

  3. Graduate Institute of Science Education and Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chun-Yen Chang

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  1. Min-Hsien Lee
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  2. Chung-Yuan Hsu
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Correspondence to Chung-Yuan Hsu.

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Lee, MH., Hsu, CY. & Chang, CY. Identifying Taiwanese Teachers’ Perceived Self-efficacy for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Knowledge. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 28, 15–23 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0401-6

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