How to Evaluate the STEM Curriculum in Spain?

Laura Estévez-Mauriz,Roberto Baelo

doi:10.3390/math9030236

Abstract

There is a wide demand for professionals related to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field; nevertheless, the number of students is decreasing every day, and the presence of women is also scarce. Within the Spanish context, different programs are promoting measures for STEM skills’ development; however, they are neither collected nor evaluated under a common umbrella. For that reason, it seems appropriate to investigate the possibilities of carrying out a STEM certification, involving the management and teaching practice of secondary and high school education centers. The present work has developed an evaluation instrument based on the work by The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation from the North Carolina State University (USA). The model proposed looking at obtaining a high-quality STEM Center certification in the Spanish context, seeking to guarantee that the efforts made are systematically collected and evaluated in a common framework. This model includes an evaluation rubric with 5 dimensions and a series of indicators, classifying the centers in 4 levels of development. The aim is to provide a framework to establish, monitor and guide their STEM culture development with a global perspective, counting with the entire educational community, working on STEM skills in a transversal manner.

Highlights

Despite the fact that various studies indicate the existence of a wide demand for professionals linked to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field, known as STEM [1,2,3,4], the number of University students who choose a degree and develop their professional careers within this field is smaller every day, specially in Western countries [5].In addition, the presence of women in these degrees and professions is scarce [6]
Innovation [51], belonging to the North Carolina State University, USA, together with a review of the current certifications existing in the Spanish context, from where we have worked to elaborate an instrument that allows quantifying the level of progress of the Spanish secondary and high-school centers in relation to the integration and development of STEM skills
The inclusion of a STEM certification model in educational centers would guarantee that the efforts made are systematically collected and evaluated with a common instrument in the Spanish context

Summary

Introduction

Despite the fact that various studies indicate the existence of a wide demand for professionals linked to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field, known as STEM [1,2,3,4], the number of University students who choose a degree and develop their professional careers within this field is smaller every day, specially in Western countries [5].In addition, the presence of women in these degrees and professions is scarce [6]. Obtaining the advantage of the added value of technology in education [8] requires both resources [9] and prepared teachers for its pedagogical use [10], where complementary teaching methodologies support ways to motivate the students [11]. This situation has not gone unnoticed; educational authorities and policy makers are promoting measures that allow both training and development of STEM skills [5,6,12]

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion