Interactive ethno-STEM learning and students’ 21st-century skills: the mediating role of student engagement

This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments and 21st-century skills, and the mediating effect of student engagement. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 349 undergraduate mathematics students, and the data were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results showed that Interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments significantly predicted critical thinking and digital literacy skills. Problem-solving skills, creativity and innovation were not directly predicted by Interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments. Student engagement partially mediated the relationship between interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments and critical thinking, fully mediated the relationships between interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments and problem-solving skills and between interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments and creativity and innovation, and did not mediate the relationship between interactive Ethno-STEM learning environments and digital literacy. The findings highlight student engagement as an important explanatory mechanism linking interactive Ethno-STEM learning with critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity and innovation, whereas the relationship with digital literacy appears to operate independently of student engagement. The study extends the Ethno-STEM literature by providing evidence that student engagement is an important mechanism by which interactive Ethno-STEM learning contributes to fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity and innovation.