Students’ Perceptions of STEM: The Role of Demographic Variables and Socio-economic Status

Abstract Students’ diminishing interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses and lack of qualified graduates in STEM fields continue to be an issuein the developing countries. A major factor is students find STEM subjects to be more challenging compared to the non-STEM...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of educational, cultural and psychological studies (Online) Vol. 1; no. 31; pp. 91 - 110
Main Authors Krishnan, Saras, D. Reston, Enriqueta
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published LED Edizioni Universitarie 15.07.2025
Subjects
developing countries
ethnic
gender
stem education
sustainable development
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Summary:Abstract Students’ diminishing interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses and lack of qualified graduates in STEM fields continue to be an issuein the developing countries. A major factor is students find STEM subjects to be more challenging compared to the non-STEM subjects. This study specifically investigates Malaysian undergraduates’ perceptions of STEM in relation to their demographics and socio-economic status. The descriptive analysis showed that students in this study have positive perceptions towards STEM subjects. They enjoy learning these subjects and agree that learning of one subject helps in learning of other STEM subjects. The inferential analysis showed statistically significant correlations between ethnicity, family size and fathers’ occupations with students’ perceptions of STEM. On the other hand, gender, parents’ education, mothers’ occupations, and parents’ income are not statistically correlated with students’ perceptions of STEM. Future studies are needed to determine underlying factors contributing towards the declining number of students in STEM fields despite their positive perceptions of STEM subjects.
ISSN:2037-7932
2037-7924
DOI:10.7358/ecps-2025-031-krre