Thai elementary students’ drawings of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers

ABSTRACT

A workforce literate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is necessary in countries. Whether students pursue careers in STEM depends on how they perceive it. Despite research on students’ perceptions of professionals in each field of STEM, few attempts have been made to compare these perceptions across fields. This study investigates 19 Thai fourth- to sixth-grade students’ drawings of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. The results show that they drew more engineers than either scientists or mathematicians. Regardless of field, they drew more men than women. For many students, mathematicians teach mathematics, scientists conduct chemical experiments, and engineers build buildings.

KEYWORDS:

• Elementary students
• STEM education
• STEM professionals
• Students’ drawings
• Students’ perception

Acknowledgement

This research was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles approved by the University of Phayao’s Human Research Ethics Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences (Code Number: HREC-UP-HSS 2.2/137/66).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).