Factors of STEM Curriculum Integration and Implementation

Abstract

It is indispensably important that the integrated STEM education in K-12 schools aligns with the 21st-century skills, creates new jobs, improves economies, and educates the next generation of STEM professionals.  The STEM Skills Indicator reveals that nine in ten STEM businesses have found it difficult to hire staff with the required skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the key factors impacting the implementation of integrated STEM curriculum in K-12 schools as perceived by teachers. The theoretical framework of the study encompasses two major theories and a model that is appropriate to the integrative nature of this study. The study followed a quantitative research design with a convenience sample of 203 K-12 teachers from both public and private schools in the United Arab Emirates who responded to the developed questionnaire through two delivery modes, online and paper-based. The questionnaire was piloted and contained 44 five-point Likert items, which are categorized into six categories (Assessment, Connection, Curriculum and Delivery, Leadership, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Technology and Resources), from related studies, as the components of STEM integration and implementation.  Results showed that the 6-factor model had a good fit to the data, with a significant model chi-square, an IFI of 0.572, a TLI of 0.537, a CFI of 0.568, and an RMSEA of 0.120. These results indicated that integration is showcased in cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches, and that all the factors associated with STEM curriculum integration indicated a positive integration. The Leadership factor has the highest predicted power, followed by Technology and Resources, Assessment, Connection, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Curriculum and Delivery. For demographics, only a significant difference was found for teachers’ years of experience, with more than two years of experience showing a positive perception of STEM integration and implementation. Based on the results, the discussion and recommendations are provided.