Analyses of High School Students’ Motivation, Optimism, Confidence and Interest Toward STEM Related Fields of Employment in Ghana.
The STEM education implementation has been running for decades, only a few studies evaluate the prospects of students’ optimism, confidence, and motivation in shaping their interest in STEM related fields of employment. Specifically, this study examines the relationships among students’ Motivation, Optimism and Confidence and how these constructs affect their interest in STEM related field of employment in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were employed to gather data from 351 students, sampled using stratified sampling technique. Composite reliability (rho_c), the Fornell-Larcker criterion and Hetero-trait-Mono-trait (HTMT) ratio were used to determine the validity and reliability of the study’s instrument. Quantitative data was assessed using Descriptive and structural equation modeling (SEM), and qualitative data was analyzed using word descriptions. The findings of the study established that, Motivation is positively correlated with students' interest in STEM related fields of employment (β =.61, p <.01). Similarly, Confidence and Optimism were also found to be positively correlated (β = .67, p <.01) and (β = .58, p <.01), respectively. Finally, it was discovered that, Confidence in STEM has the strongest relationship with Extent of Interest in STEM (β = 0.67, p < 0.001). This finding supports the importance of fostering Motivation, Optimism, and Confidence in STEM education to promote student interest and engagement. Implications of the study for policy, theory, practice and further research are discussed.
Confidence emerged as the single strongest driver of STEM interest among Ghanaian SHS students (β = 0.67), ahead of Motivation (β = 0.61) and Optimism (β = 0.58). This gives policymakers a clear priority: build students' confidence first, since low-confidence students are the ones most likely to disengage from STEM. Because SHS is the critical juncture where students choose between science, arts, and vocational tracks and because most Ghanaian STEM research has focused on tertiary or primary levels this study fills an important evidence gap at exactly the stage where intervention matters most.
The findings do not just support Ghana's existing STEM policies (curriculum integration, Free SHS, science resource centers); they show why those policies need a psychological dimension too access and resources alone do not create interest without accompanying confidence, motivation, and optimism. Practically, this points to two concrete levers: (1) structured exposure to STEM role models mentorship, career days, industry-school partnerships since role-model visibility was tied to students' confidence and optimism; and (2) teacher and school-management practices that deliberately build confidence in mathematics (normalizing struggle, celebrating progress) rather than focusing on content delivery alone. Finally, since gender-related expectations shape students' STEM attitudes, the findings reinforce the case for continued gender-parity efforts in STEM education.
