Awareness and self-efficacy of pre-service science teachers about STEM Education: A qualitative study

When STEM awareness of pre-service teachers was analysed, it was deduced that pre-service teachers did not express an opinion that mathematics-science and technology are directly connected. The failure of pre-service teachers to see the connection between mathematics, science, and technology means that they may experience integration difficulties in STEM applications in their classrooms. Considering that content integration among disciplines is very important for effective STEM teaching (Chan, Yeh, & Hsu, 2019), it can be said that prospective teachers cannot achieve an efficient STEM integration with their current perceptions. Based on the findings, it is understood that most of the pre-service teachers do not know the content of the STEM approach. According to Nadelson and Seifert (2013), there are insufficiencies in STEM teacher education. Of course, it would not be correct to generalize this finding to all international institutions that educate teachers. This perception will be the opposite of teacher training programs that provide STEM education within the curriculum. The thought of pre-service teachers that STEM education is necessary and useful can be described as a positive outcome. In researches, it is found that teachers generally think that STEM education is a useful approach (Bagiati & Evangelou 2015; Clark & Andrews 2010; Holstein & Keene 2013).

Pre-service teachers thought that STEM education should be applied in secondary schools. They supported these thoughts with the claim that STEM education could increase students' interest, embody abstract knowledge, and contribute to mastery in learning. In the researches based on the literature, it was revealed that STEM education brings different disciplines together and provides multi-dimensional learning with an interdisciplinary approach (Smith & Karr-Kidwell, 2000), and the motivation of students towards a lesson can be changed positively with STEM education (Niess, 2005). For this reason, it can be said that the views of pre-service teachers are in line with the researches in the literature. It is an important finding that pre-service teachers think that STEM education will improve students' creativity and psychomotor skills. Especially, creativity is one of the expected characteristics of students nowadays, because it is among the desired 21st-century skills (Brown, 2009). In addition, it was found in qualitative studies that STEM education increases students' psychomotor skills (Kanadli, 2019). All of the pre-service teachers who participated in the research stated that they want to use STEM education in their class when they become teachers. Similarly, Cetin and Balta (2017) concluded that pre-service teachers want to use the STEM approach in their professional lives. On the other hand, it can be said that in-service teachers are not as eager as pre-service teachers due to curriculum restrictions (Herro & Quigley 2017), difficulties in assessment and evaluation (Margot & Kettler, 2019) as well as planning STEM content (Bagiati & Evangelou 2015; Hsu et al., 2011).

Pre-service teachers stated that STEM education is effective in learning, it should be used in schools and they want to learn how to use STEM in class before graduation. According to Margot and Kettler (2019), teachers believe that well-organized and frequently available in-service training opportunities will facilitate STEM initiatives. The pre-service teachers emphasized that the substructure in schools is important for the applicability of STEM education. In similar studies, teachers stated that inadequate administrative and financial support may be a challenge for STEM implementation (Clark & Andrews 2010; Hsu et al., 2011). Pre-service teachers think that the STEM approach seeks solutions for real-life problems and is intertwined with real life. According to Bybee (2010), students who absorb the STEM approach have the necessary knowledge and skills to solve real-life problems.

Pre-service teachers stated that they want to learn the STEM approach better and they want to get training on it. After participating in professional development programs, teachers felt significant increases in their confidence, knowledge, and effectiveness to teach STEM (Lesseig, Slavit, Nelson & Seidel, 2016; Nadelson & Seifert 2013; Van Haneghan et al., 2015). The pre-service teachers stated that they wanted to receive training, especially in coding. One e reason for this may be the use of Arduino in the activity. When we think that coding is one of the important elements of STEM education (Bender, 2016), it is normal that pre-service teachers want to improve their knowledge and skills related to coding.

Recommendations and Limitations

Pre-service teachers should be given training on the content of the STEM approach. In particular, the relationship between STEM disciplines should be taught to them. Since pre-service teachers are eager to use STEM education when they start their careers, these motivations can be encouraged and they can use the STEM approach in the future. Pre-service teachers can be trained on how to apply STEM education in schools where technological conditions are insufficient. Thus, there will be a chance in less equipped districts and schools for teachers to use the STEM approach. It is recommended to improve the coding skills of pre-service teachers in STEM-related pre-service vocational education programs.

Limitations of this research include the relatively small size of the participant group, which impacts generalizability in other settings. In addition, increasing the time and diversity of the STEM-based sample activity can give pre-service teachers a different perspective. Finally, the pre-service teachers who participated in this research can be assessed when they are fully qualified in terms of using STEM.