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

Author

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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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen & Thi Huy Nguyen & Thanh Khiet Tran, 2020. "STEM Education in Secondary Schools: Teachers’ Perspective towards Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:21:p:8865-:d:434653
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Jamali, Seyedh Mahboobeh & Nader, Ale Ebrahim & Jamali, Fatemeh, 2021. "The Role of STEM Education in Improving the Quality of Education: A Bibliometric Study," MPRA Paper 114214, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 May 2022.
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    7. Hsien-Sheng Hsiao & Jyun-Chen Chen & Jhen-Han Chen & Yu-Ting Zeng & Guang-Han Chung, 2022. "An Assessment of Junior High School Students’ Knowledge, Creativity, and Hands-On Performance Using PBL via Cognitive–Affective Interaction Model to Achieve STEAM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, May.
    8. Jason D. Johnson & Linda Smail & Darryl Corey & Adeeb M. Jarrah, 2022. "Using Bayesian Networks to Provide Educational Implications: Mobile Learning and Ethnomathematics to Improve Sustainability in Mathematics Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    9. Esneider Gutierrez-Rivera & Manuela Escobar-Sierra & Jorge-Andrés Polanco, 2023. "Characterizing Organizational Sustainability in Catholic Schools: A Cross-National Study Applying Text Mining," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    10. Nurfarahin Nasri & Nik Mohd Rahimi & Nurfaradilla Mohamad Nasri & Mohamad Asyraf Abd Talib, 2021. "A Comparison Study between Universal Design for Learning-Multiple Intelligence (UDL-MI) Oriented STEM Program and Traditional STEM Program for Inclusive Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-12, January.
    11. Zawar Shah & Shannon Kennedy-Clark & Yancong Xie & Md Shamsur Rahim & Mehregan Mahdavi & Andrew Levula, 2022. "Teacher Views on Teaching Sustainability in Higher Education Institutes in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    12. Zaidi Yaacob & Nabilah Abdullah & Fazilah Razali & Sharipah Ruzaina Syed Aris, 2025. "Exploratory Factor Analysis of STEM’s Subjective Task Value and Expectation for Success Scale," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 2975-2987, January.
    13. Chuan-Chung Hsieh & Wei-Cheng Chien & Ting-Lu Lin, 2024. "Pre-service Teachers’ Perceived Importance of and Performance on Sustainable Development Goals," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, October.
    14. Petr Coufal & Štěpán Hubálovský & Marie Hubálovská, 2021. "Application of Basic Graph Theory in Autonomous Motion of Robots," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, April.
    15. Mihaela-Elena Ulmeanu & Cristian-Vasile Doicin & Paulina Spânu, 2021. "Comparative Evaluation of Sustainable Framework in STEM Intensive Programs for Secondary and Tertiary Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-33, January.
    16. Yasutaka Ozaki & Rajib Shaw, 2022. "Citizens’ Social Participation to Implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.

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