Assessing higher education students' perception towards their engagement in pedagogical STEM approach

Abstract

This study focuses on evaluating university students' views on their involvement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching methods. The aim was to explore the various factors that affect students' participation in these educational approaches. The research looked at how teaching methods, the use of technology, teamwork, interaction, motivation, and interest all play a role in engaging students with STEM education. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional study design, data were gathered from an online survey completed by 321 senior students from four universities in Mogadishu, selected through a non-random purposive sampling method. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS-4's structural equation modeling (SEM) and SPSS 22.0 software. The results showed significant links between teaching methods, technology use, teamwork, interaction, motivation, interest, and student involvement in STEM education. The study disproved the initial hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) with p-values of 0.006, 0.000, and 0.000, each below the standard threshold of 0.05. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest improving teaching methods, technology use, teamwork, interaction, motivation, and interest to boost student involvement in STEM education. These results are expected to help shape future STEM education strategies and offer important information for educators and policymakers to improve university settings and teaching methods to further increase student involvement in STEM subjects.