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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Editorial
Editorial: The Impact of Place-Based Contextualised Curriculum on Student Engagement and Motivation in STEM Education
Frontiers in education, Vol.6, pp.1-3
07/01/2022
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Abstract
Editorial on the Research Topic: The Impact of Place-Based Contextualised Curriculum on Student Engagement and Motivation in STEM Education
There is an imperative to educate our future citizens and STEM professionals, but at the same time in many countries, there are declining rates of STEM participation and achievement amongst our children in K-12 educational settings (Kennedy et al., 2014; Prendergast et al., 2014). How can we improve student engagement and motivation in STEM subjects? How can place-based contextualised approaches to teaching and learning improve teaching and learning in our schools?
Many students see STEM subjects as abstract and disconnected from their lives, leading to disengagement and reduced levels of participation in STEM subjects in the senior years of formal schooling. Disengagement in STEM is related to factors such as self-efficacy, prior achievement, perceived levels of difficulty, interest, gender stereotypes and career aspirations (Britner and Pajares, 2006; Watt et al., 2012; Wang and Degol, 2013). Females often perceive STEM disciplines to be “male-oriented” and not focussed on societal benefits, leading them to disengage, particularly in subjects like engineering and computer science (Archer et al., 2013). Finding ways to challenge STEM stereotypes and to mediate the perceived difficulty of STEM subjects may help to address some of these barriers. Also, developing ways to improve interest in STEM subjects, so that students see the relevance and value of STEM in their lives, may improve STEM participation rates (Berger et al., 2020).
We launched this Research Topic to elicit new knowledge about teaching STEM subjects through contextualised curricula approaches that engage students by making the learning relevant to them. The six articles in this Research Topic draw on studies examining teacher capacity to develop and deliver integrated STEM curricula, reasons for student disengagement with STEM and the benefits and limitations of authentic STEM learning programs.
Details
- Title
- Editorial: The Impact of Place-Based Contextualised Curriculum on Student Engagement and Motivation in STEM Education
- Creators
- Kathryn Holmes - Western Sydney UniversityNathan Berger - Western Sydney UniversityErin Mackenzie - Western Sydney UniversityCatherine Attard - Western Sydney UniversityPatrick Johnson - University of LimerickOlivia Fitzmaurice - University of LimerickNiamh O'Meara - Univ Limerick, Sch Educ, Limerick, IrelandVeronica Ryan - University of Limerick
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in education, Vol.6, pp.1-3
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Number of pages
- 3
- Identifiers
- 991013328719602368
- Copyright
- © 2022 Holmes, Berger, Mackenzie, Attard, Johnson, Fitzmaurice, O’Meara and Ryan.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Editorial