Unpacking the Dynamics of the Agency of Young STEM Makers: A Cross-sequential Study Combined with Mixed-methods Design

Student agency has received increasing attention in recent research (Raffo et al., 2021) since human beings are facing unprecedented social, economic, and environmental challenges and students as our future citizens are expected to develop their potential to conquer challenges and constraints during their school years (OECD, 2019). This project will adopt a cross-sequential approach combined with mixed-methods design to reveal the complexity of student agency in maker-centred STEM learning. To capture the developmental trajectory of the agency of young STEM makers and reveal the relationship among its six dimensions, pre-and-post surveys will be issued to approximately 720 students from four cohorts (grades 3, 4, 5, and 6) in schools that have actively implemented STEM maker activities. Following the post-survey, qualitative data (including audio-diaries and artefact-based interviews) will be collected from 72 school children to scrutinise cross-dimensional interaction and identify the factors mediating their agency development. An innovative aspect of this project is to adopt a cross-sequential design to unveil the longitudinal change of student agency. Its unique research context will make the investigation into the development of student agency more effective.

Funding Source: RGC - General Research Fund (GRF)