Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge, Perspectives and Practices in Stem Education: An Interview Study

2021 ◽  
Vol LXIV (6) ◽  
pp. 617-633
Author(s):  
Lyubka Aleksieva ◽  
◽  
Iliana Mirtschewa ◽  
Snezhana Radeva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Family Involvement ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Technology Users ◽  
Goal Implementation

Early STEM education has a great potential to support children’s development in constructing their own knowledge, in designing, discussing and testing ideas and finding solutions to different problems. Significant role in achieving the goals of STEM education is played by the teacher, who scaffolds the learning process, builds a creative learning environment, provokes children with open questions and guides them to test their hypothesis as young scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technology users. Preschool teachers’ knowledge and perspectives could seriously influence their practices in STEM education and respectively, the fulfilment of STEM learning outcomes. It is very important to explore in depth teachers’ views and experiences thus to plan and provide appropriate courses for their academic preparation or continuous professional development. While reviewing some popular misconceptions for STEM education amongst teachers, this paper presents the results of pre- and post-interviews conducted with teachers from Bulgaria in the framework of the European multilateral Erasmus+ project №2018-1-TR01-KA203-059568 “STEM for Pre-schoolers and Their Families” (PARENTSTEM) (2018–2021). The overall goal of this project was to increase family involvement in the STEM education process of early childhood children specifically coming from low socio-economic status. As a part of this goal implementation, the project aimed to extend conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of early childhood teachers on STEM. In the frame of the project the preschool teachers-participants in the study were provided with three teacher trainings (two international and one national) and were additionally supported with the intellectual outputs of the project. This paper attempted to identify teachers’ preliminary knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards STEM conceptualization and pedagogy and to describe the relative influence of the project teacher trainings and activities on them. The results of the research unambiguously demonstrated the need for training of preschool teachers in terms of STEM education, outlining the main focuses to be considered when constructing STEM courses intended for preschool teachers.

An analysis of Australian STEM education strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Murphy ◽  
Amy MacDonald ◽  
Lena Danaia ◽  
Cen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Learning Trajectories ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Equity Issues ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Education Strategy ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Stem Dispositions

In December 2015 the Australian state and territory governments endorsed the ‘National STEM School Education Strategy 2016–2026’. Since then, the individual jurisdictions have released their own STEM education strategies that aim to improve student STEM capabilities and aspirations. This paper analyses the various Australian STEM education strategies in relation to six themes informed by research into effective STEM education: STEM capabilities; STEM dispositions; STEM educational practices; Equity; Trajectories; and Educator capacities. The analysis shows that Australia’s STEM education strategies focus on actions aimed at building student STEM capabilities, particularly through inquiry and problem-based learning, and enhancing educator capacity. The strategies recognise student STEM learning trajectories and pay particular attention to the importance of early childhood STEM education, as well as the ways in which students’ potential career pathways might be influenced. However, less emphasis is placed on supporting key transitions in STEM education, developing student STEM dispositions, and addressing equity issues in STEM.

scholarly journals STEM education and outcomes in Vietnam: Views from the social gap and gender issues

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan-Hoang Vuong ◽  
Thanh-Hang Pham ◽  
Trung Tran ◽  
Thu-Trang Vuong ◽  
Nguyen Manh Cuong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
School Students ◽  
Academic Achievements ◽  
Study Results ◽  
High Level

United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 4 Quality Education has highlighted major challenges for all nations to ensure inclusive and equitable quality access to education, facilities for children, and young adults. The SDG4 is even more important for developing nations as receiving proper education or vocational training, especially in science and technology, means a foundational step in improving other aspects of their citizens’ lives. However, the extant scientific literature about STEM education still lacks focus on developing countries, even more so in the rural area. Using a dataset of 4967 observations of junior high school students from a rural area in a transition economy, the article employs the Bayesian approach to identify the interaction between gender, socioeconomic status, and students’ STEM academic achievements. The results report gender has little association with STEM academic achievements; however, female students (αa_Sex[2] = 2.83) appear to have achieved better results than their male counterparts (αa_Sex[1] = 2.68). Families with better economic status, parents with a high level of education (βb(EduMot) = 0.07), or non-manual jobs (αa_SexPJ[4] = 3.25) are found to be correlated with better study results. On the contrary, students with zero (βb(OnlyChi) = -0.14) or more than two siblings (βb(NumberofChi) = -0.01) are correlated with lower study results compared to those with only one sibling. These results imply the importance of providing women with opportunities for better education. Policymakers should also consider maintaining family size so the parents can provide their resources to each child equally.

What Is STEM Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Daniela Kozhuharova ◽  
Mariya Zhelyazkova
Keyword(s):  
Stem Education ◽  
Stem Learning

The article discusses the essence of STEM learning – its occurrence, definitions and skills that it develops in students. Based on a survey among Bulgarian teachers, an analysis of their knowledge and understanding of the occurrence and applicability of STEM training in the Bulgarian school was made.

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