The Effect of Robotics and Coding Education on Girls’ STEM Motivation, Attitude and Career Aspirations

STEM education aims to develop 21st-century skills, support economic growth and promote gender equality in STEM fields. It is known that gender stereotypes play a significant role in the formation of STEM identity. The most important factor preventing some high school-level female students from purs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:SAGE open Vol. 15; no. 3
Main Authors: Gülen, Salih, Dönmez, İsmail, Şengönül, Fatma Betül, Aslantaş, Miyase, Saritaş, Turgut, Sukenari, Ömer, Eke, Emrah, Uçar, Semih
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2025
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
SAGE Publishing
Subjects:
21st century
Aspiration
Attitude measures
Attitudes
Career aspirations
Career development
Careers
Coding
Control Groups
Correlation
Curricula
Economic growth
Education
Educational attainment
Engineering
Engineering Education
Experimental Groups
Families & family life
Family income
Females
Gender
Gender inequality
Gender stereotypes
Girls
Groups
High School Students
Humanities
Influence of Technology
Learning outcomes
Motivation
Occupational aspiration
Occupations
Parenthood education
Parents & parenting
Professional development
Research design
Robotics
Robots
Science and technology
Scores
Secondary School Science
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
STEM Careers
STEM education
STEM professions
Stereotypes
Student Participation
Students
Teachers
Technology attitudes
Tests
Variance analysis
Turkey
robotics and coding
STEM attitude
STEM career
female
STEM motivation
ISSN:2158-2440, 2158-2440
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:STEM education aims to develop 21st-century skills, support economic growth and promote gender equality in STEM fields. It is known that gender stereotypes play a significant role in the formation of STEM identity. The most important factor preventing some high school-level female students from pursuing STEM careers is their lack of participation in STEM activities. Female students in high schools have limited opportunities to explore or learn about STEM careers due to the emphasis on verbal and religious courses in their curriculum. However, it is known that women can work more autonomously in scientific activities compared to men. The current study examines the effect of robotics and coding education on the development of girls’ STEM careers. The study was conducted at an all-girls high school in Turkey, where the curriculum is predominantly centered on verbal and religious subjects. In the study, a pre-test and post-test experimental design with control group was used. A total of 76 volunteer female students (34 in the experimental group and 42 in the control group) participated in robotics and coding education over a period of 12 weeks. The data were collected using the validated STEM career, motivation and attitude scales and analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA and Pearson correlation. The findings revealed that robotics and coding training significantly improved the participants’ STEM career aspirations, attitudes and motivations. A strong positive correlation was found between career interest, attitude and motivation. The study also showed that STEM career scores are significantly higher among students who wish to become teachers compared to those considering a career in the fields of health or engineering. However, no significant correlation was found between the participants’ parents’ education levels, family income and STEM career aspirations. Plain language summary How Robotics and Coding Help High School Girls Become More Interested in Science, Technology, and Future Careers This study explores how learning robotics and coding can help high school girls become more interested in science, technology, engineering, and math—often called STEM. The research took place in a girls-only high school in Turkey, where students usually focus on religious and humanities subjects. Because of this, they often have little chance to learn about or explore STEM topics. A group of students joined a 12-week robotics and coding program, while another group continued with their regular classes. Before and after the program, both groups completed surveys that measured their interest, motivation, and attitudes toward STEM and future careers. The results showed that the girls who participated in the robotics and coding activities became more motivated, had more positive attitudes, and showed greater interest in STEM careers compared to those who did not join the program. Interestingly, students who said they wanted to become teachers had the highest increase in interest toward STEM careers. The study also found that a student’s family income or parents’ education level did not make a difference in how much they improved. This research shows that even in schools where STEM is not normally taught, hands-on activities like coding and robotics can help girls discover new interests and build confidence in areas like science and technology. It suggests that giving all students—especially girls—access to fun and practical STEM experiences can help close the gender gap and open new career paths.
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ISSN:2158-2440
2158-2440
DOI:10.1177/21582440251382631