The Role of Motivation and Academic Wellbeing – the Transition from Secondary to Further Education in STEM in Finland

Katariina Salmela-Aro

European Review, 2020, vol. 28, issue S1, S121-S134

Abstract: The transition from secondary education to tertiary education is challenging in Finland. Some of the key challenges are related to the competition rates in upper secondary education, gap years, low motivation towards STEM fields and a highly selective admission system to tertiary education; many opt out of STEM fields. In the current article, I approach these challenges in the context of expectancy-value-cost theory taking both a variable and person-oriented approach. Taking a variable-oriented approach we have identified that students’ interest in STEM subjects decreases during secondary education. Taking a person-oriented approach, we can identify three different subgroups. The person-oriented approach reveals that 50% of the students show a decreasing interest in all subjects during secondary education. Additionally, we can identify two gendered pathways. One trajectory is more typical among males; for this group the interest in mathematics increases during secondary education. The other trajectory is more typical for females; with them, interest in mathematics decreases during secondary education while at the same time their interest in languages increases. When these groups are followed later on we can identify that those in the group in which interest in mathematics increases are more likely to pursue studies and to find employment in STEM fields compared with those in the group in which interest towards languages increased. In addition, we could identify four gendered motivational orientations towards work and education after the transition from secondary education: those interested in income (more males), those looking for future prospects, those combining work and family (more females), and those interested in society (more females). Recently, we have developed an intervention programme to promote interest and pathways towards STEM, which I will present as a way to bridge the transition from secondary to further education in STEM.

Date: 2020
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