The professional communities of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education in the United States are united in their support for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The purpose of this paper is threefold...
The professional communities of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education in the United States are united in their support for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to identify the status of motivational issues in the research work of STEM education; (2) to summarize the selected studies; and (3) to synthesize them according to motivational categories such as self-determination (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) and interest. This study is a meta-analytic review conducted according to the three stages of preparation, data selection, and analysis. The data are from research works of the ERIC database. The findings of the review of thirty three works indicates that STEM education value the students` motivational development such as interest, attitude, achievement, and enrollment. This study offers two conclusions focused on motivational issues in the STEM education. First, the integrated instruction among STEM disciplines is a way to improve students` self- determination. Second, implementing STEM education enhances teachers` motivation. Teachers must have both the knowledge and confidence to integrate STEM discipline using the abilities of coordinating, redesigning instructional materials, and communicating concepts. Therefore, professional development for integrated instruction must be developed and conducted to build up teachers` motivation. Also, this study suggests the development of the integrative instruction suitable to students` ability and encouragement of the collaborative learning.