What do primary teachers think about stem education? Exploring cross-cultural perspectives

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has been positioned as a global priority, yet the associated demands of such aspirations are confronting education systems worldwide. This chapter discusses the findings of a small cross-cultural study exploring STEM education with primary teachers from Australia and from India. STEM education has been positioned as a global priority, particularly for all countries seeking to consolidate a competitive place in the world’s future economy. In Australia and India, STEM education has been highly promoted through significant financial investment. A cross-cultural study to understand more about how primary teachers think about and enact STEM education revealed some interesting insights into how cultural expectations and aspirations impacted primary STEM education. The primary teachers working in India used the content of each STEM discipline – that is, conceptual ideas and associated skills – to identify opportunities for integrating learning and highlighting a natural relationship which defined STEM learning.