Current State, Problems, and Necessary Factors to Promote STEM Education Projects of Science Teacher Students
Keywords:
STEM Education, Problem, Promoting Factor, STEM Education Project, Science Teacher StudentAbstract
The objective of this research was to study the current state, problems, and necessary factors to promote STEM education projects of science teacher students. Online focus group was used for data collection from 5 teachers of General Science Program at 5 teacher production institutions, 4 science teachers at 4 teaching profession training network schools, 20 science teacher students, and 5 practice teachers at a teacher production institution in Southern Thailand. Content analysis, critical discourse study, and conversation analysis were used for data analysis. Research findings indicate that although participants held positive views toward STEM project-based learning, its implementation remains limited. Key obstacles include selecting project topics that do not align with the community context, insufficient interdisciplinary knowledge across the four STEM domains, a lack of creativity, limited access to expert networks, and constrained budgets. Conversely, factors contributing to success include starting with real-life, local problems; having dedicated advisors; sufficient resources and funding; and team collaboration. In the future, it is essential to enhance the capacity for conducting STEM projects by integrating the principles of biomimicry, innovative problem-solving theories, community collaboration, and a structured mentoring and coaching system.
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