STEM in Primary school - between theory and practice

Food education – let’s go back to the future

Applying STEM education to primary schools leads to many practical benefits, in line with the trend of general education innovation. The Ministry of Education and Training deployed Official Dispatch 3089/BGDDT-GDTrH dated August 14, 2020 on implementing STEM education in schools at 3 levels: STEM lessons, STEM experiences, STEM scientific and technical research. However, in current reality, the quality of STEM education in primary schools still has many limitations from teachers and administrators. This article reviews and analyzes the current status of STEM education in primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City, thereby developing measures to manage STEM education capacity development activities for primary school teachers to meet the 2018 General Education Program.

Introduction: School can be considered as a relatively moderate risk working environment due to the various hazards assembled in the school. Nevertheless, Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) training is yet to formally inclusive into teachers’ training module, and the current one-off or ad-hoc OSH training mainly targeted among school students. The different OSH awareness exists among teacher and student have hinder the provision of sustainable and effective safety and health training program at school levels. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice among primary and secondary school teachers towards OSH at the school environment. Method: A cross-sectional survey carried out at three (3) primary schools and three (3) secondary schools after stratified random sampling. School teachers from these schools were randomly selected among those who had at least one year work experience as permanent teacher at the current school through the fishbowl technique. A structured questionnaire was used and total 136 teachers were assessed on their knowledge, attitude and practices on OSH at schools. Result: Study found that primary and secondary school teachers have different knowledge, attitude and practices of OSH at school levels. Overall, the knowledge level of secondary school teacher (62.1% of high to medium knowledge levels) are higher than the primary school teachers (41.1% of high to medium knowledge levels); at the same time, 93.1% of secondary school teachers show positive attitude while 88.5% of primary school teachers show positive attitude on safety and health atschools. In general, OSH practice level among the primary (88.5%) and secondary school teachers (86.2%) are atrelatively good levels. Besides, there is positive association with knowledge and attitude on OSH behavior among primary school teachers. Apart of this, there is positive but relatively weak association with knowledge and practices and knowledge and attitudes among primary and secondary school teachers. Conclusion: Considering the background differences between primary and secondary school teachers, a sustainable OSH learning mechanism should be planned and designed together with OSH practitioners and Ministry of Education to achieve a sustainable safety and healthy sound school environment for teacher to work and for students to learn.

This paper focuses on digital education in European primary schools, examining trends, challenges, and financing strategies. The study uses a combination of research methods, including the comparative method, analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, statistical data collection, and the monographic method. The paper identifies the current state of digital education in primary schools across Europe and highlights the challenges faced by educators and policymakers in implementing digital education initiatives. It analyzes the different financing strategies adopted by European countries and their effectiveness in promoting digital education in primary schools. The study finds that while many European countries have made significant progress in digital education, there are still challenges to be addressed, including infrastructure and connectivity issues, digital skills gaps, and funding constraints. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers and educators to promote digital education in primary schools and ensure that all students have access to quality digital learning opportunities.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, personalized learning has gradually become an important trend in STEM education in primary and secondary schools. This paper explores the multifaceted impact of personalized learning driven by artificial intelligence on STEM education in primary and secondary schools. By analyzing adaptive learning platforms, intelligent feedback systems, and data-driven teaching strategies, we found that artificial intelligence significantly improves students' learning outcomes, making teaching more flexible and efficient. Personalized learning enables students to learn according to their individual needs and interests, enhancing their learning experience and sense of participation. At the same time, teachers can use artificial intelligence tools to monitor and adjust teaching content in real time, thereby improving the pertinence of teaching. Although the application of artificial intelligence has brought many advantages, it also faces challenges such as data privacy and technological dependence. Future research should focus on these challenges and explore how to better balance the application of technology with educational ethics. Overall, personalized learning driven by artificial intelligence has a profound impact on STEM education in primary and secondary schools, providing new opportunities for innovation and progress in the field of education.

Character education which is intended to love the motherland is one of the character education that must be instilled for every young generation from an early age. The purpose of this study is to find out how to instill national character (nationalism) through learning Citizenship Education in Primary Schools. The method used is the study of literature (literature study) on books and learning tools for Citizenship Education in other Primary Schools. The results showed that Citizenship Education in Primary Schools has contributed in every effort to instill national character (nationalism) through several schemes: 1) Planning to instill national character (nationalism) by incorporating the value of national character (nationalism) into the Syllabus, thematic RPP , and Citizenship Education teaching materials in Elementary Schools; 2) How to assess the inculcation of national character (nationalism) through Citizenship Education in Primary Schools by assessing the cognitive domain through tests, affective domains through teacher observation sheets and coordination with religious and sports teachers, and psychomotor domains through the process and results of the assessment; 3) The strategy of instilling national character (nationalism) through Citizenship Education in Primary Schools is through comprehensive discussions and methods.

PurposeThere is little research into how teachers think about and teach creative writing and its redrafting and how this might differ depending upon the age of the pupils being taught. This paper aims to compare the creative writing conceptualisations and practices of primary school teachers (5–11-year olds) and secondary school teachers (11–18-year-olds) in England through a qualitative survey. This comparison enables to think about the influence of policy on creative writing in primary and secondary schools as well as what professional development could look like for these teachers to improve the teaching of creative writing.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative survey exploring the creative writing and redrafting pedagogies and conceptualisations was responded to by primary school teachers (n = 18) and secondary school teachers (n = 19). Taking an ecological view of creative writing and teacher identity, the authors undertake a comparative analysis of the survey data using the 5A’s theory of creativity (Glaveanu, 2013) and a view of professional identity existing within “landscapes of practice” (Wenger-Trayner, Wenger-Trayner, 2015). This enables to illuminate how and why creative writing is contextually afforded, or otherwise, in primary and secondary landscapes of practice.FindingsThis analysis demonstrates how the redrafting of creative writing is marginalised in both landscapes of practice and how redrafting is largely conceptualised as a technical rather than critical or creative action. The authors show how teachers, particularly in primary school, aim for their pupils to produce “products” rather than engaging in the “process” of creative writing. This analysis also shows that whilst creative writing is overall more marginalised in the secondary school landscape, it is often taught through process approaches. In both landscapes of practice, the re-drafting of creative writing is largely taught through product approaches.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is potentially skewed by the fact that we recruited our participants through networks relating the teaching of English, including creative writing. What is worrying about this limitation, however, is that the picture of creative writing in schools in England probably leans more to a product approach than the picture this research has uncovered.Practical implicationsProfessional development for teachers in both landscapes is needed in relation to pedagogical actions for creative writing and its redrafting. Some of the key differences we have outlined in conceptualisations and practices between primary and secondary schools landscapes, notably the overuse of product-based teaching actions in primary landscapes, and some of the differences we have outlined within discrete landscapes of practice, notably how some primary school teachers feel more confident to challenge the product-based approach, with one conceptualising redrafting as “creative”, indicate that professional development should involve teachers working across schools.Social implicationsPolicy needs to be reformed to move away from the technicist view of creative writing held in both landscapes of practice. Linked to this, the way creative writing is assessed as a product in secondary schools needs to change – the re-introduction of portfolio-based coursework (Bishop, 1990) would provide the affordance of redrafting as an action central to creative writing processes.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a rare piece of research which compares primary and secondary school teachers’ approaches to teaching creative writing. It shows that primary school teachers can be formulaic in the way they teach creative writing, using product approaches. However, in secondary schools the picture is different: teachers, particularly those, who are writers themselves, give students more agency in redrafting and shaping their writing. This indicates how professional development should involve primary and secondary school teachers in dialogue with one another to cross boundaries of practice.

This paper introduces a method to enhance STEM education in primary schools by integrating 3D educational games with traditional teaching tools. Our approach combines two fundamental aspects: technical, which incorporates multi-platform educational games of various genres, and social, fostering interactions between teachers, students, and software developers. This model encourages adaptive learning tailored to student needs and promotes continuous student engagement. By simplifying complex STEM concepts through gamification, our method holds promising potential to improve the quality and effectiveness of STEM education in primary schools.

Despite the fact that science education (SE) in primary school is integrated, it must be of high quality. In other words, primary school students should be able to perform simple observations and tests, formulate conclusions, use the simplest devices and instruments, and so on. The same universal questions remain, such as What do young people need to know and understand? why is it important? What are the most effective ways of teaching science at different levels of the school system? What knowledge and skills do teachers need? In Lithuanian primary school (1-4 grades), science education is mainly implemented through World Cognition lessons and includes two goals that are very important for the student's socialization and education: to help the child get to know nature and its processes and to ensure appropriate (positive) student socialization. Although teachers tend to demonstrate a variety of experiments, student research activities are not predominant. A similar situation is observed with regard to the use of technology in the educational process. The readiness of teachers to organize and implement science education in primary school is quite uneven/diverse. Thus, the main aim of this study was to analyse the position of primary school teachers on the issue of science education, i.e., to determine which ways of improving science education one sees, and which methods of activity in the process of science education are most appropriate, how student research activities are carried out in the SE process. A quantitative study using a survey strategy was conducted. In-service primary school teachers from various Lithuanian primary schools participated in the study. A total of 115 teachers from more than 30 Lithuanian schools participated. Teachers use a variety of methods in their science education. The most frequently used are the involvement of students in practical work (activities), demonstration of experiments, attempts to link science content with the daily life of students, to organize group work of students. Class discussions are much less often encouraged, and students are allowed to carry out independent research (experiments). The aim is rarely to incorporate technology, to encourage (facilitate) research, to meet (take into account) the individual differences of students. In the process of primary science education, the most common research with students is related to a healthy lifestyle, environmental protection, and ecology. Less often, students do research on vegetation (flora), fauna (fauna), physical phenomena. Very rarely students do research on agriculture / the effects of chemicals on plants and animals. Students rarely explore soil, minerals, and rocks. Teachers argue that science education in primary school could be improved with more resources / equipment, etc., by including more practical work (activities) in an effort to bring science content closer to students' daily lives, with more student-centred lessons, better access to technology and their use in reducing the number of students in the classroom. Some teachers point out that it is important to devote more time to the selection and analysis of science content, etc., to the preparation of lessons and to have more opportunities for the professional development of teachers. Keywords: professional development, primary school, practical activities, science education

The promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education aims to provide students with chances of solving real-world problems based on their disciplinary knowledge and skills. One teaching approach in STEM is through integration, which may enable students to understand the interconnection among disciplines and formulate a solution with consideration of multiple disciples. To implement STEM education in primary schools, an attention has been paid to teachers' professional development (PD), and one particular interest is to develop an effective way to elevate the teachers' knowledge in engineering to become capable in teaching in the integrated approach. In order to guide policymakers to design an effective PD workshop/course, our work aims to first gain an understanding of teachers' expectations toward the PD and then develop a conceptual PD model for integrated STEM. This paper conducts a qualitative case study to deeper analyze primary school teachers' perception of PD and STEM education, as well as their potential challenges. The data came from the individual interview with eight in-service primary teachers (n = 8), the result shows that teachers' challenges in attending PD lie in the intrinsic challenge of a lack of knowledge in 1). how to apply knowledge learned into practical teaching, 2). differentiation of needs and skills, and 3). their values while extrinsic challenges are reflected in aspects of 4). a lack of support, 5). vague school decision and 6). a lack of guidance of direction. Regarding their expectation of STEM PD, suggestions could be made on a focus of content & pedagogical knowledge of STEM subjects, practical activities and contextualisation.

Inclusive education has become a worldwide practice because it boosts child rights, especially the right to basic education. Management of inclusive education in primary schools is critical if the education sector is to realize set objectives. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of special needs education (SNE) resources on the management of inclusive education in public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County, Kenya. The specific objectives included establishing the influence of available teaching and learning resources for SNE and SNE teachers' competence in the management of inclusive education in public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County. The study was supported by two theories, namely Classical Liberal Theory of Equal Opportunity and Social Darwinism and Systems Theory. The research used a mixed-methods approach. This study used a descriptive, explanatory research design. The target population was 520 respondents, including 437 pupils with disabilities, one quality assurance officer, 4 guidance and counselling teachers, and 4 head teachers. A sample of 170 respondents was selected. Questionnaires for Headteachers, Guidance and counselling Teachers, and Pupils with disabilities and interview schedules for Quality assurance officers were adopted to collect primary data. After cleaning this data by looking for errors in the entries, different descriptive statistics like the variation of coefficient, frequencies, standard deviation, mean score and percentages were assessed for all the quantitative information and variables presented using tables. Inferential statistics such as regression analysis were computed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 27. On the other hand, qualitative information was analyzed through the use of content analysis. Regarding the availability of teaching and learning resources for SNE, the study found that the schools had adequately adapted textbooks and hearing aids for SNE. Further, regarding the SNE teachers' competence, the study established that it was uncertain whether many of the teachers at their schools had received special education training. The study concluded that SNE teachers' competence (β=0.737, p-value=0.006<0.05) had the greatest influence on the management of inclusive education in public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County, while available teaching and learning resources for SNE (β=0.541, p-value=0.003<0.05) had the least influence on the management of inclusive education in public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County. The study recommended that head teachers and teachers should be taken for some SNE management training by the government through seminars organized by the Ministry of Education in order to be able to cater to the learners with special needs in regular schools. The findings might be used by the Ministry of Education and education stakeholders to enhance the quality of inclusive education in public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub-County, Kenya.

Background: Each year, Macao receives over 30 million visitors after Macao's handover back to China. Macao's population density is top ranking in the world, which comes with high risk of different kind of disasters and dangers. The Macao government should learn from other Asian countries and regions, to provide public education in primary and secondary schools. Aim: This study aimed to explore the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Literacy (DPML) among primary and secondary school teachers in Macao. Findings will provide evidence for the Macao government on designing disaster prevention training for primary and secondary school teachers. Method: Primary and secondary school teachers who had registered with the Macao Education and Youth Affairs Bureau were recruited using stratified sampling. Subjects voluntarily completed the modified "Primary and Secondary School Teachers DPML in Disaster Prevention Questionnaire". Results: A total of 265 valid questionnaires were received. In which 164 were from secondary school teachers (60%) and 101 for primary school teachers (40%). The scores of disaster prevention technique and knowledge were dispersed. The scores of disaster prevention attitude were clustered. The overall disaster prevention attitude level for teacher was high and satisfied. Secondary school teachers had higher scores in disaster prevention knowledge, while primary school teachers had higher scores in disaster prevention attitude. Female had better scores than male in disaster prevention attitude. Teachers with more working experience also had better disaster prevention and mitigation literacy. Conclusion and recommendations: The findings indicate that disaster prevention education among Macao primary and secondary school teachers are needed in Macao. The Macao government should establish a disaster training programs to all school teachers. In these programs, disaster prevention knowledge for primary school teachers and the disaster prevention attitude for secondary school teachers should be emphasized, and male, young age, with less working experience teachers should be targeted.

The study was to explore the status of inclusive education, its opportunities and barriers in primary schools in Punjab. The objectives of the study were to (i) Find out inclusive education practices in primary schools in Punjab, (ii) Find out opportunities of inclusive education in primary schools in Punjab and (iii) Explore the barriers of inclusive education in primary schools in Punjab.

The relevance of the problem of historical education in primary school is determined by the need for younger students to develop a sustained interest in history, awareness of the importance of their own cultural and historical identity. This requires teachers to understand the essence of this process, apply innovative teaching methods and approaches aimed at actively involving students in learning history. The purpose of our research is to determine the essence of the concept of “historical education of primary school children” and the specifics of the organization of this process in primary school. Materials and methods. The following research methods are selected: 1) analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature – in order to determine achievements in solving the problem under consideration, to identify existing scientific points of view on the problem of historical education of younger schoolchildren; 2) SWOT analysis – in order to identify the advantages and disadvantages of existing programs aimed at historical education; 3) a survey – to determine the level of formation of knowledge of younger students about historical events. The sample of the study was made up of students of the 3rd and 4th grades of schools in Chelyabinsk. The sample size was 170 people. The analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature carried out by the authors allowed us to state the insufficient elaboration of the problem of historical education of younger schoolchildren in both domestic and foreign literature. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the author’s formulation of the concept of «historical education of primary school children», which refers to the activity of a teacher aimed at forming children’s initial historical knowledge in connection with an interest in the history of their Fatherland, a personal understanding of the significance of the main events, the desire to preserve historical memory. The analysis of the results of the survey indicates a lack of awareness of students in grades 3–4 about historical events. Based on the conducted SWOT analysis, threats to achieving the goals of historical education have been identified: excessive content of existing programs, planning a large number of expected results. Historical education in primary schools should be aimed at the study of reliable and scientifically based historical knowledge by children, the development of the ability to understand the causes and consequences of historical events, to assess their impact on people’s lives. It creates one of the foundations of the all-Russian civic identity and collective historical memory. One of the tasks of historical education in primary school is to form a value attitude to the world around us based on acquaintance with important and truly vivid events, personalities, and stories from the history of our country. To achieve this task, it is necessary to use the opportunities of lessons (literary reading, the outside world, ORCSE, music, art, etc.) and extracurricular activities (participation in design and research activities, visiting theaters, staging performances with a historical plot, studying epics, fairy tales, folk art, etc.).

Schools are key environments for promoting healthy eating habits, food knowledge and skills, but the systematic implementation of food education is usually lacking. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of primary school headteachers and municipal education directors regarding the key factors influencing the implementation of food education in Finnish primary schools. In this qualitative study, the participants took part in research interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using theory-driven content analysis to identify common categories. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted. The interviews involved twelve headteachers and five education directors, all of whom had prior experience in implementing food education through the Tasty School project, which supported primary schools in delivering food education. In the analysis, the key factors influencing implementation of food education were categorised according to an ecological framework into two levels: the macro level and the school community level, which represents the micro-level interactions within the school’s physical and social environment. The results indicate that successful food education requires a school culture that prioritises it − incorporating curriculum integration, dedicating adequate planning time and ensuring sufficient resources. Primary schools would benefit from a school culture that prioritises food education. This includes setting objectives in the curriculum, allocating sufficient time for planning, ensuring resources and creating supportive learning environments. While headteachers play a central role, support from municipal officials is essential for sustained implementation. These findings provide insights to support the implementation of food education at both school and municipal levels.