Exploring Factors Influencing Students’ Affective Engagement with Systems Thinking

Abstract

Increasing complexity in today’s world requires skills to analyze ideas, identify connections, and view concepts holistically. Systems thinking addresses this need by focusing on the interactions and relationships among various elements. However, developing this skill requires explicit and scaffolded activities for effective learning. To explore how this can be achieved, a descriptive survey was conducted to determine whether significant differences exist in students' affective learning of systems thinking based on gender, academic grade, and birth order. These factors were examined as they relate to emotional responses, engagement, and motivation, which are critical to developing students’ ability to apply systems thinking effectively. The study involved 380 junior high school students from a public high school in the Philippines. Findings revealed significant differences in how male and female students applied systems thinking. Students with higher academic grades showed greater appreciation for its application, while birth order had minimal influence on perspectives regarding systems thinking capabilities. These findings highlight the importance of strategies that consider individual differences, such as gender-related variations and cognitive diversity, in enhancing systems thinking development. By incorporating these insights, educators can design targeted interventions, and researchers can develop strategies to foster systems thinking skills essential for addressing real-world challenges.