ABSTRACT

Education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is crucial for taking advantage of the prospects of new scientific discoveries initiating or promoting technological changes, and managing opportunities and risks associated with innovations. This book explores the emerging perspectives and methodologies of STEM education and its relationship to the cultural understanding of science and technology in an international context.

The authors provide a unique perspective on the subject, presenting materials and experiences from non-European industrialized as well as industrializing countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Egypt, Brazil and the USA. The chapters offer a wide scope of interpretations and comparative reviews of STEM education by including narrative elements about cultural developments, considering the influence of culture and social perceptions on technological and social change, and applying innovative tools of qualitative social research.

The book represents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of the current status and future challenges facing STEM education across the world, including issues such as globalization, interdependencies of norms and values, effects on equity and social justice as well as resilience. Overall the volume provides valuable insights for a broad and comprehensive international comparison of STEM philosophies, approaches and experiences.

part |25 pages

STEM education between universalism and cultural relativism

chapter |16 pages

Why ‘technology' is not universal

Philosophical remarks on the language and culture issue of STEM education

chapter |8 pages

Universals in STEM education

Interview with Heinz Duddeck (engineer) and Randolf Menzel (biologist)

part |161 pages

STEM education worldwide

chapter |17 pages

From national mission to what?

Shifts in the implications of science and technology in South Korea

chapter |9 pages

Corporate social responsibility programmes for STEM education

cases from the Indian technology cluster city of Hyderabad

chapter |22 pages

Tertiary education in the GCC countries (UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)

How economy, gender and culture affect the field of STEM

chapter |9 pages

The NRC Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards

An opportunity to improve science education in the USA

part |49 pages

STEM education from a comparative transnational perspective