An Exploratory Study of Middle School Students' Motivation in Science: Comparing a STEM Education Program in Korea and the USA

This exploratory study is aimed at exploring the validity of the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) developed for university students, to measure the science motivation of middle school students and analyze the differences on gender and country factors of SMQ. A total of 371 students participated in this study: 171 middle school students from the USA and 200 secondary students from Korea. All participants were enrolled in the STEM program and activities in Utah, USA (for US students) and at a Korean university institute for gifted and talented students (for Korean students). In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and latent mean analysis were used to analyze the gender and country differences. The results indicated that the 25 items of SMQ scale were theoretically meaningful and valid for middle school students. The latent mean difference by gender indicated that male students have higher intrinsic motivation, career motivation, grade motivation, and self-determination than female students. Moreover, a significant difference exists in these factors between the two countries. Further findings reveal that Korean students scored higher than US students in terms of the aforementioned factors. This study will provide significant insights in and contribution to science motivation issues in STEM education and the development of design-based engineering programs.