Exploring the Science Attitudes of Urban Diverse Gifted Middle School Students

摘要

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a central focus in science education, research, economics and politics. With this increased focus on STEM, it is important to know urban gifted students’ perceptions and attitudes toward science. Overall, these 6th and 8th grade gifted students reported a lack of interest in science. This is troubling, if we want to see more diversity in the science professions. One group, minority girls, did provide a bright spot in their responses which had not been commonly reported in the research literature. They liked science the most and were positive about science, which was encouraging. To develop a diverse STEM workforce, it is imperative to provide the quality of education and means to support all students interested in pursuing these fields, including urban diverse gifted students.