2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Spatial reasoning is a fundamental cognitive skill increasingly recognized as critical for success across Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. It underpins essential tasks in fields such as engineering, physics, architecture, and computer science, yet it remains often underdeveloped and underemphasized in traditional educational curricula. This gap presents significant challenges for students' learning and achievement in STEM pathways.
This study aimed to investigate the interplay of educational environments, physics performance, and motivational factors (including self-efficacy and attitudes toward physics) in the development of spatial reasoning skills among secondary school students. The research addressed three core questions: (1) How do educational environments, indicated by school types, influence spatial reasoning development? (2) What is the predictive power of physics performance on spatial reasoning abilities? (3) How do students’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward physics, influenced by personal and teacher factors, impact their spatial reasoning performance?
This study employed a quantitative approach using penalized regression models (Lasso and Ridge regression) to identify key predictors of spatial reasoning performance. The sample consisted of 251 senior secondary school physics students from diverse public and private schools in Nigeria. Data were collected using validated instruments: the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and Spatial Orientation Test (SOT) to measure spatial reasoning; a Physics Achievement Test Survey (PATS) (based on WASSCE papers) to assess physics performance; and the Students' Attitudes Toward Physics Questionnaire (SATPQ) to measure personal, teacher, and self-efficacy factors related to physics learning.
The penalized regression analyses revealed several significant predictors of spatial reasoning. School type emerged as the strongest predictor, with private school students demonstrating significantly higher spatial reasoning scores than their public school counterparts. Physics performance also showed a robust positive correlation with spatial abilities, indicating that stronger physics proficiency is associated with better performance on spatial tasks.
This study confirms the interconnected influence of educational context, domain-specific knowledge (physics), and individual motivational factors on spatial reasoning abilities. It provides empirical support for implementing curriculum reforms and pedagogical strategies that explicitly integrate spatial thinking into physics and engineering instruction, while also considering students' attitudes and self-efficacy to foster more equitable and effective STEM education. Future research should evaluate the long-term effectiveness of targeted interventions and explore the potential of digital technologies for spatial skill development.