Becoming a Biologist: The Impact of a Quasi-Apprenticeship Program on Chinese Secondary School Students' Career Intention

Autor/inn/en	Zhao, Jinli; Hu, Sifan; He, He; Chen, Jin
Titel	Becoming a Biologist: The Impact of a Quasi-Apprenticeship Program on Chinese Secondary School Students' Career Intention
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 51 (2021), S.669-695 (27 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-019-9832-1
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Apprenticeships; Experiential Learning; Botany; Grade 7; Grade 8; Middle School Students; Career Exploration; Science Education; Student Interests; Program Effectiveness; Student Attitudes; Self Efficacy; Intention; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Apprenticeship; Lehre; Experiental learning; Erfahrungsorientiertes Lernen; Botanik; School year 07; 7. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 07; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Berufserkundung; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Studieninteresse; Schülerverhalten; Self-efficacy; Selbstwirksamkeit
Abstract	The decreasing number of young students pursuing science careers has become a rising concern worldwide, particularly in China. Educational programs with empirical evidence of promoting young students' pursuit of science careers are still lacking. Here, drawing on the existing literature, we designed and implemented a 3-day quasi-apprenticeship program in a research botanical garden of China. We used a pre-post test design, with hypotheses based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and provided both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the efficacy of the program on 319 seventh- and eighth-grade Chinese students from 15 public schools. The quantitative findings by using generalized estimating equations indicated that students' attitudes, subjective norms, science self-efficacy, and career intention were significantly enhanced after the program; the structural equation modeling result showed that the enhancement of career intention could be explained by increases in subjective norms and science self-efficacy. The qualitative findings also supported the notion that a high proportion of students mentioned gains in increased science self-efficacy from attending the program. We suggest a short-term program, engaging students in group work of authentic science practices with mentors in an authentic context, might be a cost-effective strategy for supporting Chinese young students' pursuit of science careers. This study also provides valuable information, through both pedagogical and theoretical structure elements, for educators and researchers who design, deliver, and evaluate educational programs to promote secondary school students' pursuit of science careers. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01