The Impact of STEM Education on Disadvantaged Elementary Students: Science Attitudes and Collaborative Learning Skills

OpenAlex · Turkish

AbstractThis study aims to examine the impact of a STEM education intervention designed for disadvantaged students on their attitudes toward science and their collaboration skills. The disadvantaged group addressed in the study consists of students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and those under temporary protection. In this study, the pre-test–post-test control group quasi-experimental design, one of the experimental research methods, was adopted. Within the scope of the research, a STEM education intervention was implemented for 4th-grade students in the units "Properties of Matter" and "Lighting and Sound Technologies." The research was conducted at a primary school located in a province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye, where approximately 80% of the student population is composed of disadvantaged students. A total of 46 fourth-grade students participated in the study, with 24 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. According to the findings of this study, the STEM activities implemented in science education significantly improved the attitudes of students from disadvantaged groups toward science and enhanced their collaborative learning skills. These findings highlight the need to more widely adopt STEM-based approaches as an effective pedagogical tool in science education for disadvantaged student populations.