A Systematic Review of Research of STEM Motivation in Rural Contexts

• In Event: What Research Syntheses Tell Us About the Individual, Instructional, and Contextual Correlates to Academic Motivation

Abstract

Education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines remains a focus for educators across the nation as the demand for workers in STEM fields continues to rise. However, STEM access and achievement still highly vary based on geographic location (ACT, 2017). Students in rural schools lack necessary resources, local role models, and outreach options needed to pursue STEM career fields at rates seen in their urban and suburban counterparts (Harris & Hodges, 2018).
Researchers have described the development of motivation and interest in STEM as foundational to life-long learning in this field (Bell et al., 2009; Hossain & Robinson, 2012). Therefore, the study of STEM motivation within rural contexts highlights a potential area of research in addressing the dearth of students from these regions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review analyzing current trends in STEM motivation research within rural populations. Our objective was to understand what research currently exists within the field of STEM motivation among rural students, as well as to identify limitations and potential areas of research yet to be explored.

Method
We conducted 10 searches that combined the key terms rural AND STEM OR science education with one of five terms related to motivation (motivation, identity, engagement, self-efficacy, or interest). Each combination was entered into 12 relevant university databases. No limitations were placed on the date of publication. Duplicates were removed from the list of all potential articles resulting in 353 items for review.
We screened article abstracts (round 1) and full-texts (round 2) using the following criteria: relevancy to the topic, publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and access to full-texts in English. Examples of relevancy exclusions included: studies in which there was no measure of student motivation (e.g., motivation only mentioned as part of future directions or introduction); studies in which outcomes of mixed student populations did not differentiate findings by geographic region; or studies in which keywords were used in a non-applicable context (“plant stem growth,” “rural migration”). The process resulted in 153 articles for review.

Results/Discussion
Included articles were analyzed for trends in the population studied (e.g., elementary school, high school), method of research (e.g., qualitative, longitudinal designs), key terms used to describe motivation (e.g., self-efficacy, interest), method of measuring motivation (e.g., self-report, interview, observations), theoretical frameworks (e.g., self-determination theory, expectancy-value theory), and each article’s key findings related to rural students’ motivation. This systematic review provided evidence that rural students’ motivation for STEM is an important area of research to understand geographic disparities in STEM. However, much work needs to be done to fully grasp what techniques might uniquely support STEM motivation in rural contexts. We also found that many interventions in which student motivation was identified as an ultimate target (i.e., teacher professional development, curriculum development) failed to directly assess student motivation as an outcome at all. Studies on rural STEM motivation would benefit from better measurement, more robust samples, and longitudinal research designs. We discuss implications for supporting motivation for STEM in rural contexts.

Authors

• Shannon Clark, University of Georgia

• Michael M. Barger, University of Georgia - Athens