Development and Preliminary Evaluation of an Outdoor STEM-Based Extracurricular Activity Toolkit for Supporting Grade 6 Students’ Entrepreneurial Skills in Problem-Solving, Creative Thinking, and Collaboration

Abstract

This study used a convergent mixed-methods design to develop an outdoor STEM-based extracurricular activities toolkit that integrates agricultural enterprise activities with STEM learning and to investigate its preliminary effectiveness in enhancing Grade 6 students' problem-solving, creative thinking, and collaboration skills, components of entrepreneurial skills, over a 5-week period. The participants were 33 Grade 6 students from a public school, enrolled in Semester 1 of the 2025 academic year, selected through cluster sampling. The research tools included expert-validated pre- and post-entrepreneurial skill assessment forms (IOC = 0.80–1.00, Cronbach’s α = .85), weekly reflective learning journals, and a student satisfaction questionnaire (IOC = 0.80–1.00, Cronbach’s α = .88). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a dependent t-test, while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The developed toolkit consisted of five structured modules (Salad Shop Member, Seedling Grower, Soil Chef, Packaging Designer, and Salad Vendor) and was rated Excellent (M = 4.83, SD = 0.28) by experts. The findings revealed statistically significant improvements in students' problem-solving (t = 8.94, p = .001, d = 1.56), creative thinking (t = 9.49, p = .001, d = 1.65), and collaboration skills (t = 6.15, p = .001, d = 1.07) after participation. Students also reported very high satisfaction with the activity toolkit (M = 4.94, SD = 0.24). Preliminary findings suggest that implementing an outdoor STEM-based extracurricular activities toolkit that integrates interdisciplinary knowledge with real-world practice could support primary school students' entrepreneurial skills.