Survey study demonstrates a positive link between science capital and STEM career aspirations in secondary students, highlighting drivers for technical workforce development.
Key Points
To investigate how science capital—encompassing home and school experiences of science—influences science-related career aspirations among secondary school students in Abu Dhabi.
Survey design utilizing adapted questionnaire items to measure science capital and career aspirations by proxy.
Sample comprised N=429 middle and high school students from government schools in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Science capital functioned as a statistically significant, validated construct within the UAE secondary education context.
A positive and statistically significant relationship was observed between students' science capital and their science-related career aspirations.