Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis

Marison Sudianto Manalu; Chun-Yen Chang

doi:10.29333/ejmste/15954

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Marison Sudianto Manalu ¹ , Chun-Yen Chang ¹ ² ³ ^*

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¹ Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TAIWAN² Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TAIWAN³ Department of Biology, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, INDONESIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study explores the attitudes of Indonesian primary students toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and their interest in STEM-related careers. We conducted a survey using the students’ attitudes toward STEM (S-STEM) instrument, collecting data from 166 fourth and fifth-grade students (93 females and 73 males) in North Sumatra and West Java provinces, Indonesia. By employing latent profile analysis (LPA), we categorized student interest in STEM into three distinct groups: high, moderate, and low interest. Surprisingly, our findings indicate no significant differences in interest based on grade, gender, school location, or school type. The insights gained from LPA highlight the importance of customized educational strategies to promote effective STEM engagement in Indonesia. This research underscores the role of attitudinal profiling in enhancing STEM education implementation and nurturing future STEM careers.

Keywords

STEM education
attitudes toward STEM
interests
STEM-related careers
primary students
latent profile analysis

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 21, Issue 2, February 2025, Article No: em2584

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

Publication date: 13 Feb 2025

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How to cite this article

APA

Manalu, M. S., & Chang, C.-Y. (2025). Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 21(2), em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

Vancouver

Manalu MS, Chang CY. Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2025;21(2):em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

AMA

Manalu MS, Chang CY. Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2025;21(2), em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

Chicago

Manalu, Marison Sudianto, and Chun-Yen Chang. "Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2025 21 no. 2 (2025): em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

Harvard

Manalu, M. S., and Chang, C.-Y. (2025). Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 21(2), em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954

MLA

Manalu, Marison Sudianto et al. "Unlocking Indonesian primary students’ attitudes toward STEM education and interests in STEM-related careers using latent profile analysis". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 21, no. 2, 2025, em2584. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15954