Status and Trends of STEM Education in Highly Competitive Countries: Country Reports and International Comparison
Canada is at various crossroads and one of these is STEM education. The Ca nadian government anticipates that STEM will be a catalyst for economic and cultural change. After a decade of federal policies and funds for STEM educa tion, there is little to show in K-12 schools and teacher education prog...
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3418 |
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| Summary: | Canada is at various crossroads and one of these is STEM education. The Ca nadian government anticipates that STEM will be a catalyst for economic and cultural change. After a decade of federal policies and funds for STEM educa tion, there is little to show in K-12 schools and teacher education programs. The vast majority of non-profit, private sector, and professional society policy recommendations reinforce the federal government’s lead. This chapter pro vides a critical analysis of challenges, policies, practices, and trends in STEM education in Canada. The chapter primarily focuses on K-12 STEM education and teacher education and tangentially on postsecondary STEM education. The analysis is presented in three sections: 1) context of STEM education in Canada with a focus on economic and educational policies and funding trends; 2) trends in frameworks and systems of K-12 STEM education and STEM teacher education; and 3) oversights of engineering and technology in STEM education practice and policy across Canada. For instance, five provinces and two territories do not have technology course requirements for graduation from high school. None of the provinces and territories have an engineering requirement. Integrative STEM education, a potential catalyst recommended by a range of researchers and teachers across the world, has also not had much influence on K-12 schools and teacher education in Canada. Perhaps Indig enous ways of holistic learning and integrative STEM will influence necessary changes. Iterations on STEM, such as STEAM, STEEM, and STEM-H pro vide additional challenges across the educational system in Canada. There is a profound sense that STEM education has to change but there are also long standing disagreements over the how, what, and why of necessary changes. Through critical analysis, this chapter provides insights into key issues and trends in STEM education in Canada to facilitate potential changes. |
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