Date of Award
8-2019
Culminating Project Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Administration and Leadership, K-12: Ed.D.
Department
Educational Administration and Higher Education
College
School of Education
First Advisor
Roger Worner
Second Advisor
Kay Worner
Third Advisor
James Johnson
Fourth Advisor
David Lund
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Abstract
According to the CRS Report for Congress (Library of Congress, 2008), “there is a growing concern that the United States is not preparing a sufficient number of students to enter in the professions of science and engineering.” This growing concern has motivated the creation of a discipline based on the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics known as STEM. The supporters of STEM education believe that this program has more benefits than the traditional system, an obsolete system that fails to capture students’ interest in STEM subjects (Sanders, 2009).
Unfortunately, there are barriers in successfully implementing STEM programs in K-12 education, including minimal STEM curriculum for teachers to use in integrating STEM approaches in their classrooms, a lack of efficient training to provide STEM teacher preparedness, and minimal, continuous STEM professional development programs (Nadelson et al., 2013).
The study examined Minnesota teachers’ understanding, training and perception of STEM education and its implementation. Additionally, the study examined how teachers perceived the need for continuous professional development in the effective implementation of STEM. Based on the literature and data collected in the study, the study acquired a positive inclination in research respondents’ understanding of the purpose of STEM, their confidence in understanding, teaching and implementing STEM, how they rated the value of the STEM, development on STEM. The study also identified that more professional development programs inspiring STEM instruction should be designed to develop teachers’ understanding and implementation of STEM integration.
Recommended Citation
Mohamud, Abdulcadir, "Minnesota Teachers’ Understanding, Training, Perception of STEM Education and Its Implementation" (2019). Culminating Projects in Education Administration and Leadership. 65.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/edad_etds/65
Comments/Acknowledgements
Many people were at the heart of the completion of this dissertation. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Roger Worner, for his encouragement and motivation throughout my long doctoral journey. I will forever be grateful for his continuous support.
I would also like to thank my professors, especially my doctoral committee members: Dr. Kay Worner, Dr. James Johnson, and Dr. David Lund for the time they spent revising my dissertation and the constructive feedback that followed.
To my family, I thank you for your unwavering love and support in this journey. You were always there offering a helping hand and reassuring words. You allowed me to reach my life’s dream, which was to earn a doctoral degree. This work would not have been possible without you.