Conference Agenda

Introduction:

Contemporary society is increasingly shaped by digital technologies (OECD, 2024; World Economic Forum, 2025), driving a sustained demand for qualified STEM professionals, as evidenced by labor market indicators across numerous countries (Jones et al., 2017; National Science Board, 2024). However, despite this demand, many countries are reporting declining student interest and retention in STEM fields (National Science Board, 2024; Truchly et al., 2019; World Economic Forum, 2025). Bridging this gap requires not only expanding STEM training capacity but also fostering student engagement and motivation within these pathways.

In Belgium, the VUB STEAM Academy, led by Vrije Universiteit Brussel, is developing two educational centers, one in Gooik and the other in Halle, both dedicated to STEM. The Academy offers camps, workshops and clubs for young people and their communities, with an emphasis on 21^st century skills, sustainability, accessible hands-on making and technology experiences. As part of its mission, the Academy aims to establish a baseline profile of students’ STEM interest, identity, motivation and satisfaction of the basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, competence) in the Pajottenland and Zennevallei regions, given the documented role of these factors in shaping STEM trajectories and career intentions (e.g., Chiu, 2021; De Loof et al., 2022; Keith, 2018; Kim et al., 2018; Nadelson & Seifert, 2017; Pinxten et al., 2019; Vansteenkiste et al., 2009). This baseline will identify youth subgroups requiring targeted interventions and enable rigorous evaluation of the impact of forthcoming Academy projects on participants’ STEM interest, identity, motivation and career intentions.

To conduct this mapping, as well as future impact evaluations, there is a need for a validated, integrated Dutch-language instrument that assesses STEM interest, motivation, identity and need-support (autonomy, relatedness, competence). Existing Dutch measures capture only parts of this construct space. For example, the Dutch version of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II focuses on science motivation rather than the broader STEM construct and is typically used as a subject-specific instrument (Glynn et al., 2011). For STEM interest, a Dutch adaptation of the STEM-LIT instrument exists, but it targets younger learners (Grimmon et al., 2020). Moreover, there are currently no Dutch instruments for assessing students’ STEM identities or their experiences of basic psychological need-support in STEM activities. Although international instruments are available (e.g., Chiu, 2021; Cohen et al., 2021; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Stets et al., 2017; Tyler-Wood et al., 2010), much of their validation has been conducted in United States, raising cross-cultural and linguistic concerns for Flanders (Belgium) (Maric et al., 2023). In this context, the lack of a validated, integrated tool hampers intervention evaluation, the identification of subgroups needing tailored support and the monitoring of trends in STEM engagement.

Objectives:

The present validation study aims to develop and psychometrically validate such an instrument, enabling multilevel analyses and testing measurement invariance across gender, socioeconomic status and migration background. In doing so, it addresses a gap identified by Moote et al. (2020), namely, the limited insight into why some groups remain excluded from STEM while others participate successfully.

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Self-Regulation Strategy Inventory into Turkish. Following the examination and confirmation of equivalence between the English and Turkish versions, the scale was administered to 415 students enrolled in an urban high school. To evaluate the validity and reliability of the inventory, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted, and internal consistency was examined using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The results of the factor analyses indicated that the inventory retained its original three-factor structure. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the adapted inventory was .74, demonstrating acceptable internal consistency. Overall, the findings suggest that the Turkish version of the Self-Regulation Strategy Inventory is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing students’ self-regulated learning strategies.

Self-regulated learning refers to the cognitive, metacognitive, behavioral, motivational, and affective actions that individuals employ during learning processes (Alvi & Gillies, 2020). To conceptualize and foster self-regulated learning, several theoretical frameworks have been proposed (Boekaerts, 1992; Zimmerman, 2000). A shared feature of these models is their emphasis on goal setting and the cyclical nature of the self-regulation process (Panadero, 2017). The present study is grounded in Zimmerman’s (2000) theoretical framework and aims to adapt the Self-Regulation Strategy Inventory (SRSI) into Turkish. Accordingly, the research question guiding the study was: Is the SRSI a valid and reliable instrument for measuring high school students’ self-regulated learning strategies?

In today’s rapidly changing world, there is an increasing emphasis on transversal competencies—skills that prove invaluable to students regardless of the specific context. A fundamental component of these key competencies is the competence to learn, which fosters the essential skills required for lifelong learning (EU, 2019). Within this framework, student self-assessment plays a pivotal role (Earl, 2012). It serves as a primary driver, encouraging students to gradually assume responsibility for their own educational progress and master the ability to learn throughout their lives. Furthermore, this approach is intrinsically linked to learner-centered education.

This paper addresses the level of student self-assessment and the methodologies for its measurement. The instrument selected for this purpose, the SaPS questionnaire (Yan, 2018), was originally developed in an Asian context. This study discusses the process of adapting this tool for the European environment, specifically within the Czech Republic. This adaptation is timely, as the Czech education system is currently undergoing a curricular reform in line with the 2030+ Strategy (Fryč et al., 2020), which shifts the focus toward assessment; notably, formative assessment is being strongly promoted, and traditional grading in the first and second grades of primary school has been abolished.
The paper outlines the adaptation stages, including translation, cross-cultural adjustment, and consultations with both experts and students. Finally, it details the pilot data collection and the subsequent evaluation using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.
This study is part of a more extensive research project investigating the relationship between the level of students' self-assessment skills and their self-regulated learning. The objective is to highlight the significance of these two components in education and to explore the correlation between them.