The Impact of Prior Exposure to Engineering Through the MUT Pre-College Course - A Case Study of Kangema Sub-County Secondary Schools

Abstract

In Kenya, secondary schools have a great role in preparing learners for career progression. In order to realize industrial growth, it is important to prepare more students for careers in STEM. There is relatively little research that exists on the impact of prior exposure to Engineering through pre- college sessions to students' attitude in STEM subjects. In addition, Industry 4.0 requires that the 21st century student be exposed to current trends in the industry. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the pre-college sessions as a mode of prior exposure to Engineering to secondary school students on learning STEM subjects. The pre-college exposure course entailed introducing the students to green energy through Solar photovoltaic systems, automation using Arduino, advanced manufacturing through 3D printing and robotics. The research was conducted in secondary school students from Kangema subcounty. The target population is Form 1 and Form 2. In this research, the first cohort entailed 30 students who were selected from 3 secondary Schools through stratified, systematic and purposive sampling. The students were taken through the pre-college sessions. The study explored the impact of the precollege sessions to the attitude learning of STEM subjects. The study established that the students exhibited an improved attitude in learning of the STEM subjects