Fostering Sustainable STEM Education: Attitudes and Self-efficacy Beliefs of STEM Teachers in Conducting Laboratory Activities

Abstract

Self-efficacy beliefs play an essential role in determining teaching practices, including choosing appropriate instructional activities, organizing lessons, and preparing oneself to handle challenging situations (Bandura, 1997). Hence, the study focuses on determining and discovering the science teaching attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs in teaching and handling laboratory activities of the purposely selected seventy-one (71) STEM teachers of Agusan del Norte Division. Descriptive statics was employed to determine the quantitative results supported by themes of the open-ended questions. Results show that STEM teachers show high self-efficacy rates in each respective factor provided in laboratory and science teaching efficacy beliefs and possessed positive attitudes towards science teaching. Laboratory & Science Teaching self-efficacy beliefs and science teaching attitudes of STEM teacher participants vary when grouped according to gender. However, there is a significant relationship between the STEM teachers' laboratory self-efficacy beliefs to their respective science teaching attitudes and science teaching efficacy beliefs showing a low positive correlation. This implies that STEM teachers can handle and teach laboratory activities in limited and available learning environment. It is recommended that self-efficacy perception enhancing activities should be intensified in teachers' training such as professional development programs like INSETS and Learning Action Cells (LAC) integrating to address their self-efficacy beliefs for the sustainability of STEM education in the Division of Agusan del Norte.