Assessing science motivation among high school students participating in a supplemental science programme: the Emerging Scholars Environmental Health Sciences Academy

ABSTRACT

Motivation to learn science plays an important role in the persistence, achievement, and career aspirations of students studying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Several studies have focused on how supplemental summer programmes build science motivation in undergraduate STEM students, but few studies have focused on how such programmes build motivation in high school students. This study assessed how the Emerging Scholars Environmental Health Sciences Academy, a supplemental summer science programme for public high school students in Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida in the southern United States, influenced participants’ science motivation, as measured by the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQII). The SMQII assesses five motivation factors for learning science: intrinsic motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, career motivation, and grade motivation. Participants (n = 45) completed the SMQII before and after completing the academy, which allowed students to learn, apply, and experience environmental health science. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in motivation to learn science among participants, particularly for self-determination and career motivation. Inquiry-based learning, individual mentoring, and exposure to environmental health careers may explain why the academy was effective in positively influencing participants’ self-determination and career motivation. Finally, practical lessons learned for implementing a supplemental science programme for high school students are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Motivation
• secondary/high school
• inquiry-based learning
• environmental health

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the late George Stewart, founding director of the academy at the University of West Florida, for his boundless enthusiasm and commitment to the programme. The authors also acknowledge Lynette Dupré Perrault for her dedication to and management of the academy at Tulane University, and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling for her leadership, guidance, and strong support of the academy at the University of South Alabama.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Hannah Covert http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-8557

Daudet Ilunga Tshiswaka http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5481-0998

Ishara Ramkissoon http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8372-8299

Maureen Lichtveld http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9264-883X

Jeffrey Wickliffe http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6216-9894

Notes

1 The underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM cannot, of course, be attributed solely to inadequate K-12 math and science education. Socioeconomic factors, such as parental income and education, and patterns of racial/ethnic segregation play a large role in educational opportunities and outcomes (Reardon, Kalogrides, & Shores, 2017), as do employer hiring practices (Salzman & Benderly, 2019).

2 In the U.S., a high school student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA) is calculated by averaging final grades from all courses on a scale of 0 to 4. A 4.0 GPA is typically equivalent to an ‘A’ grade of a letter scale (A, B, C, D, F). A 3.0 GPA is equivalent to a ‘B.’

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program, which was funded from the Deepwater Horizon Medical Benefits Class Action Settlement approved by the US District Court in New Orleans on 11 January 2013 and became effective on 12 February 2014.