Determining the Effect of Inquiry-Based STEM Activities on the Creative Personality Traits of Disadvantaged Female Students

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of inquiry-based STEM activities on the creative personality traits of disadvantaged female students. In this context, the study was conducted with 31 female students enrolled in middle schools located in a low-income district of Malatya, who were also registered at a local community center. These students were selected through a purposive random sampling method. The selected participants engaged in inquiry-based STEM activities for a period of five days. A explanatory mixed methods design was employed in the study. The research design corresponds to a quasi-experimental model with a single-group pre-test–post-test structure. The quantitative data were collected using the “Creative Personality Traits Scale” to measure the students’ creative personality characteristics. To support the quantitative findings, qualitative data were gathered through “Knowledge Acquisition Notebooks” and “Product Development Notebooks,” both of which were designed by the researchers, as well as through student diaries and a demographic characteristics form. The findings indicated that the disadvantaged female students developed positive perceptions toward inquiry-based STEM activities. It was concluded that inquiry-based STEM activities had a significant positive effect on their creative personality traits. On the other hand, when academic achievement, grade level, and pre-school education status were examined in terms of their impact on the sub-dimensions of creative personality traits, only the grade level variable showed a significant effect on the sub-dimension of intrinsic motivation. For the other demographic variables, no significant effects were found on the students’ creative personality traits.