Perceptions of teachers and students participating in the stem Oman program in light of some variables

This study aimed to identify the perceptions of teachers and students about STEM OMAN program in light of some variables. The study used a descriptive research approach. The sample of the study consisted of (51) male and female teachers and (1012) students from grade 10 selected from those who participated in the program. They were selected using a convenience sampling method during the academic year 2019/2020. To achieve the aims of the study, two questionnaires were developed: one for teachers and the other for students. Also, individual interviews were conducted for a sample of teachers and a focus group interview for a sample of students. The validity of the questionnaires and the interviews were verified by a group of specialized judges. The reliability of the two questionnaires was examined through the internal consistency (Alpha Cronbach), which was found to be (0.86) for the teachers\u27 questionnaire as a whole and (0.77) for the students\u27 questionnaire as a whole. The results of the study showed that the teachers and the students had positive perceptions about the design of the STEM OMAN program as well as its implementation and impact. Also, the results revealed that the participants perceived moderate difficulties in the implementation of the program, most notably the weakness of the Internet in the school and the insufficient time allocated to implement the activities of the program. The results also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in teachers\u27 perceptions about the program due to gender, years of teaching experience and years of supervision. However, there were statistically significant gender differences in students\u27 perceptions about the design and implementation of the program favoring females as well as in the difficulties in implementing the program favoring males. In light of the previous results, the study propose several recommendations such as allocating fixed lesson in the school timetable for the program and preparing an assessment form to follow the student\u27s progress in the program. The study suggests conducting a comparative study between students participating in the program and non-participants, in terms of possessing the skills of the twenty-first century, skills of science operations and students ’attitudes toward science