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Sweden, Australia, and Belgium: STEM Comparisons in Early Childhood
Book chapter

Sweden, Australia, and Belgium: STEM Comparisons in Early Childhood

Coral Campbell, Chris Speldewinde, Kerstin Bäckman, Thijs Eeckhout, Annie Maj Johansson and Anders Arnqvist
Play and STEM Education in the Early Years: International Policies and Practices, pp.201-217
Springer
17/06/2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99830-1_10

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Abstract

Internationally, there has been an ongoing focus by governments through their educational policies to address declining interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This increasing need for knowledge and understanding of STEM provides an impetus for all educational systems to re-visit their actions around STEM learning and engagement. A more comprehensive understanding of early childhood STEM education provision is needed so that an informed, effective, and appropriate development of early childhood STEM pedagogical standards and resources occurs. This chapter provides research to understand what cultural influences are brought into play as teachers work in STEM education, what they do when teaching STEM and the factors which influence their decision making. Examples from three countries, Sweden, Australia, and Belgium, are explored using document analysis and qualitative data to formulate their cases. The three cases studies were considered from the perspective of education policy, provision of teacher education, and teaching practice. Examination of the practices that are currently in place in Sweden, Australia and Belgium provide information that the policy and cultural background of each country contribute to strong similarities and but also relatively small differences in teacher pedagogy.

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