STEM Education in Secondary Schools: Teachers’ Perspective towards Sustainable Development

Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen, Thi Huy Nguyen and Thanh Khiet Tran
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Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen: Department of Development and Sustainability, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand
Thi Huy Nguyen: Ministry of Education and Training, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thanh Khiet Tran: Ministry of Education and Training, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: Young people are the future of society and agents for social change, and so it is crucial to provide education that not only equips them with knowledge and skills but also changes their attitudes and behavior towards sustainable development. This study provides a review on how pedagogical approaches in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education can be deployed to teach concepts of sustainability. It also shows how secondary school teachers perceived STEM education and how they applied integrated STEM disciplines in designing projects to address development issues in Vietnam. Seventy-seven STEM teaching projects of teachers across the country were analysed, and interviews were conducted with 635 teachers who participated in the STEM program. Teachers valued STEM education and were willing to apply constructivist pedagogical methods to help solve the real-world problems. It is hoped that an integrated STEM approach can transform education into an innovative and inclusive education for social equity and sustainable development.

Keywords: real-world contexts; constructivist pedagogical methods; STEM teaching projects; sustainability; SDGs; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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