Assessing the impact of utility value intervention on middle school students’ science interest, utility value beliefs and career interest in science

Date

2024-8-28

Author

Söylemez, Simge

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This study investigates the impact of a utility value intervention on middle school students’ personal interest in science, utility value beliefs, and career interest in science. Using a quasi-experimental design, 95 seventh-grade students were divided into experimental group, which received both curriculum-oriented instruction and a utility value intervention, and control group, which received only curriculum-oriented instruction. Self-report instruments were administered as pre-test and post-test. In addition, open-ended questions were administered to obtain in-depth information about students’ personal interest in science. Results showed that the utility value intervention did not significantly impact students’ personal interest, utility value beliefs, or career interest in science. However, there was a significant decrease in the personal interest and utility value belief in science over time in the control groups, while there was no significant change in the experimental groups. In terms of the career interest in science variable, no change was observed in both groups over time. On the other hand, qualitative data suggested that both control and experimental groups students believed that activity-enriched science instruction could boost their interest. However, a greater number of students in the experimental groups found the content more relevant to their lives, which heightened their personal interest in science. Additionally, a larger number of students in the experimental groups attributed their increased interest specifically to the intervention, compared to those in the control groups. Concerning students articulated utility values, results revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, favoring the experimental groups.

Subject Keywords

Utility value intervention, Science motivation, Task value beliefs, Personal interest in science, Utility value beliefs, Science career interest, Middle school students

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/111041

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis