ABSTRACT
The discipline-specific education or teaching and learning focusing on individual subject matter created a large vacuum in developing a workforce to accomplish the contemporary transdisciplinary career demand. The discipline-specific education that dominates the school system has shortcomings in preparing students to face the challenges of complex multidisciplinary issues impacting them. The health-related complex problems, climate change, energy, and transportation entrenched in the society are multidisciplinary. As such, discipline-specific education would not succeed in preparing students to meet contemporary demands. Transforming education into an interdisciplinary perspective for the foreseeable future is essential. Integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is one of the interdisciplinary approaches gaining incremental attention in recent years. It constitutes an integral component of the educational policies of some countries. Malaysia is one of the countries that is not left behind in accommodating to the changes in the global trend. Integrating and implementing STEM education is one of the nation’s primary agendas, and the country is progressing with introducing various STEM initiatives through school curricula. However, STEM teaching has frequently been a challenging task as STEM educators encounter difficulties with translating the interdisciplinary perspectives and theories into practice. This chapter illustrates the theoretical perspectives and strategies recommended in the literature for implementing STEM education. This chapter presents the STEM education initiatives outlined by the Ministry of Education at the planning level and the practices implemented in Malaysia. Finally, this chapter includes suggestions to bridge the gaps between theory and practice to strengthen the delivery of STEM education in Malaysia.
