Author(s): Sufian A. Forawi, Elaine J. Al Quraan
It is indispensably important that integrated STEM education in K-12 schools aligns with the 21st century skills, creates new jobs, improves economies, and educates the next generation of STEM professionals. Significant amounts of money and resources have been allocated to advance STEM education in various settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the key factors impacting the implementation of an integrated STEM curriculum in K-12 schools as perceived by teachers. The theoretical framework of the study included two major theories and a model as appropriate to the integrative nature of study. The study followed quantitative research deign and included a convenient sample of 203 K-12 teachers, from both government and public schools in the UAE who responded to the developed questionnaire through two delivery modes, online and paper-based. The questionnaire contains 44 five-Likert items which were categorised into six categories (Assessment, Connection; Curriculum and Delivery, Leadership, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Technology and Resources), from related studies, as the components of STEM integration and implementation. Results showed that the 6-factor model had good fit to the data, with a significant model chi-square, an IFI of .572, a TLI of .537, a CFI of .568, and a RMSEA of .120. These results indicated that integration is showcased as cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches and that all the factors associated with the STEM curriculum integration indicated positive integration. Yet, the Leadership factor has the highest predicted power, followed by Technology and Resources; Assessment; Connection; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; and Curriculum and Delivery. Only the significant difference was found for teachers’ years of experience, having more than two years of experience with positive perception for STEM integration and implementation. Discussion and recommendations are provided