The roles of empathy and citizenship in promoting students' learning perseverance in STEM education

Abstract

Many studies in the STEM education field focused on students’ self-oriented motivation. However, considering the importance of STEM to society and the benefits of STEM knowledge for those who desire to contribute to the community, it is possible that students may also be motivated to learn STEM for prosocial reasons. We examined whether understanding the needs of the people in the community (i.e., empathy) would predict students’ desire for community involvement (i.e., citizenship), and subsequently, their learning perseverance in STEM education. Results showed that empathy significantly and positively predicted learning perseverance, both directly and indirectly through citizenship. These findings highlight the role of prosocial constructs, including empathy and citizenship, in promoting STEM learning. Implications for STEM education are discussed.