Audience
Researchers, School Administrators, Teachers
Keywords
Descriptors: High School Students, Academically Gifted, Student Attitudes, Educational Attitudes, STEM Education, Qualitative Research, College Freshmen, Prior Learning, Honors Curriculum, Semi Structured Interviews, Research Methodology, Academic Aspiration, Talent Development, Teacher Influence, Advanced Courses, Ability Grouping, Self Efficacy, School Counseling, Educational Environment, Student Educational Objectives, Social Support Groups, Teacher Characteristics, Teacher Student Relationship, Teacher Competencies, Cooperative Learning
Author(s)
Mullet, Dianna R.; Kettler, Todd; Sabatini, AnneMarie
Date
2017
Abstract
This qualitative study was conducted to explore gifted students’ conceptions of their high school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Participants were seven male and female college freshmen selected from the Honors College of a large research university. In-depth interviews captured students’ retrospective accounts of their conceptualizations of their high school STEM education. Interview transcripts were analyzed inductively using a phenomenographic analysis framework. Findings comprised an outcome space composed of six core categories of meaning representing STEM learning environment, institutional supports, social supports, teacher qualities, active involvement in learning, and students’ self-perceptions of their STEM capability. Findings from this study offer a deep understanding of contemporary STEM education of gifted secondary students and help inform future curriculum design, program evaluation, and educational policy.