Fostering STEM Education for Early Childhood in Thailand

Abstract

STEM education is a national agenda for educational policy in many countries including Thailand. The Thai policy aims to encourage youth to take an interest in STEM learning and to be able to use STEM knowledge and skills in their everyday life and future careers. Much literature (e.g., Campbell et al., 2018; McClure, 2017; The National Research Council [NRC], 2011) suggests that the earlier we start in students’ educational journeys, the more effectively we can enhance our students’ learning in STEM. Thus, early childhood education (ECE) is the right place to start learning STEM. In Thailand, STEM education became a national agenda in 2015 but it began in Early Childhood Education since 2006. The ECE policy aims to lay fundamental skills and promote learning experiences related to STEM learning for young children. There are several professional development programs and STEM conferences for ECE teachers and school administrators hosted by government agencies and the private sector, delivered via face to face and distance training. In addition, various STEM learning activities and resources have been created to promote young children’s hands-on and minds-on learning experiences. This chapter will provide a brief history of STEM education in ECE in Thailand, an overview of teachers’ professional development, examples of STEM activities in formal and informal learning, and an overview of research studies.KeywordsEarly childhoodKindergartenSTEM curriculumProfessional developmentCurriculum development