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Many studies have recently focused on the importance of the effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in science education and the need for science teachers to receive adequate training and support to use them effectively. This paper aims to explore the Albanian science teachers’ perceptions and use of ICTs in teaching processes. The study provides an interpretative analysis of the opinions of science teachers teaching in the middle and high schools of several Albanian regions expressed in an online survey. Overall, the results suggest that the use of ICT by science teachers in Albania is limited by a lack of proper infrastructure, limited access to technology, and training of teachers on integrating technology. However, there are indications that the adoption of ICT in science education may increase in the future, particularly after the boost from the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, Peer Reviewed

Society is in an incessant process of reflection but the educational system is not following the same path, creating an urgent need for a quality educational renovation in which new methodologies, approaches and educational resources are developed based on creation, collaboration and learning by doing. In this sense, the integrated education of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) is postulated as an educational approach through which to transform the teaching-learning processes into processes that contribute to the development of critical, creative, and scientific thinking. Proof of this is the continuous increase in publications in this line of research. This article presents a systematic review with a total of 19 studies published in high-impact journals with the aim of making a critical reflection and evaluating the real scope of incorporating STEAM projects in education to improve the students' mathematical skills. In particular, five areas of interest have been evaluated: active learning in the teaching of STEAM subjects, the development of technological resources, the design and implementation of educational proposals, the evaluation of STEAM education and teacher training in STEAM education. Considering the results, we emphasize the need to continue working on the theoretical foundation and educational practice of this approach to allow teachers to implement it effectively., Peer Reviewed

This study made a preliminary attempt to conduct a needs assessment of teachers' implementation of the SSI-based approach in teaching Science by exploring Filipino teachers' awareness, perceived need, readiness, and willingness. It also aimed to determine which among the demographic profile of the teachers had significant differences in their perceived need and readiness. A needs assessment using a quantitative survey research design was employed in this study. The data-gathering procedure was done using a validated online survey questionnaire with a Cronbach alpha of 0.89. A total of 124 science teachers took part in this study throughout the two-week implementation. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that more than half of the teachers were highly aware of the SSI-based approach and perceived the need for its implementation in science classes. Teachers were also willing to participate in an SSI training program to learn more about it and develop their own SSI-related materials. Furthermore, gender and specialization significantly differed in teachers' perceived need, while specialization significantly differed in readiness. This study can be used as a basis for further research on teachers' perceptions and views of implementing the SSI-based approach, Peer Reviewed

In an emerging trend in engineering education students are engaged in the scientific discovery process through reading about research published in articles rather than textbooks. A research-based and curriculum-oriented intervention in an undergraduate course was designed to elucidate whether students can progressively gain reading skills when provided with selected articles explicitly related to fluid mechanics research. The aim was also to monitor student awareness of their own progress. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate how fourth-year fluid technology students perceived their reading skills during the teaching intervention. A progressive strategy was applied, including warm-up readings, in- and out-of-class assignments, and best practice lectures. Two parallel test exams and test readings were associated and quantitatively analyzed. Each cohort was randomly divided into two groups, and each group was assigned a different test reading before the lectures; the readings were then switched for the post-lecture assignment. The results demonstrate that the students acquired selective reading skills and awareness of accomplishment. The analyses indicated that learners gained an understanding of the core concepts and gave positive feedback on the teaching materials and schedule. These findings may serve as a guide for engineering educators to improve the preparation of undergraduate students, Postprint (author's final draft)

This study was conducted on the perception of high school students regarding the influence of learner and teacher on school science learning. The subjects were 867 South Korean high school students at 464 natural science and 404 humanities learning course. The components of the influence of learner and teacher on school science learning consisted of learning motivation, class participation, learning, and achievement. Overall, high school students perceived that learners had a stronger influence than teacher on learning motivation, class participation and achievement except learning. High school students at natural science learning course recognized more than students of humanities learning course that learners had a stronger influence on learning motivation, class participation, and the achievement than teacher. Since high school students at natural science learning course considered their future careers when selecting such learning course, their interests and motivation in science were already higher than students of humanities learning course. Thus, school teachers have to make an effort to develop the professionalism of teaching because the learning effect was not limited to the cognitive skills of science class students, and may vary depending on the explanations of teachers, Peer Reviewed

In Vietnam, STEM-based teaching approaches have been recommended for schools since 2018 with the integration of multiple courses in schools. Teachers’ perspectives on integrated STEM education, and how to design a STEM lesson that supports students’ learning are critical for ensuring that an integrated STEM curriculum is to be implemented successfully. This paper aims to describe a study examining STEM education practices in teaching Mathematics, in particular “Trigonometry ratio of an acute angle” in Vietnam. This study utilized mixed methods approaches with three phases: the first stage employed a quantitative phase to examine Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives on STEM education. The second phase was an experiment on teaching while applying STEM education to design and organize a mathematics lesson, and the third, final phase, was to employ a qualitative study to explore the Vietnamese students’ experiences of STEM education connected with real-world problem-solving and 21st-century skills development. A total of 47 teachers and 85 students participated in this study and data was collected from multiple research tools such as questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Findings showed Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives on the necessity and importance of applying STEM education practices; however, they reported facing numerous challenges. A lesson designed as a STEM education application and the students’ feedback in relation to real-world problems. Learning outcomes connected with 21st-century skills in this study were expected to provide further knowledge for further discussions and practices to enhance teaching and learning STEM and mathematics education in Vietnam, Peer Reviewed

This article analyzes the self-concept about digital competence in university professors of Sciences, Health Sciences and Engineering and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use habits of professors in these areas. For this purpose, a survey designed by the authors was completed by 340 university professors in the aforementioned areas. Based on the answers obtained from this survey, a descriptive quantitative analysis of the assessments of the self-concept of digital competence and training of the participants, of the didactic use of ICT and the frequency of their use before and after the pandemic has been carried out. The results showed that the digital competence of the professors is intermediate, but their training is valued as low, especially in Sciences and Health Sciences. The assessment of ICT is very good. The pandemic has caused a generalized increase in the use of ICT, mainly in Health Sciences, which is the area in which university students were most reluctant to use them. In addition, a gender gap which did not exist before the pandemic has been generated favoring females in the use of ICT in Science and Engineering. An age-based digital gap that existed before the pandemic has also been corrected in Health Sciences, Peer Reviewed

Here we are again. JOTSE have another year and we thank our readers and authors for their confidence. As usual, in this first number we present ours editorial with an analysis of our Journal evolution. In this sense, we reflect on the changes just undergone in 2022 and the new challenges for 2023., Peer Reviewed

Scientific literacy development significantly impacts real-world outcomes, leading to scrutiny of instructional approaches for global reform in science education. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of the Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach in improving students' scientific learning outcomes. A quantitative research design, using meta-analysis guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, was used to determine the effect sizes of previous studies on the STS approach's effectiveness in science learning and teaching. The study analyzed 16 effect sizes from 14 empirical studies from January 2017 to September 2022 using Harzing's Publish or Perish application and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. Results showed that the STS approach significantly and positively impacts students' learning outcomes (g = 1.882), particularly psychomotor skills, affective domain, and cognitive skills. Moderator analysis showed that STS is an effective teaching strategy that yields similar positive results regardless of the assessed learning outcomes. The findings demonstrated that the STS approach facilitates students' development of scientific knowledge, skills, and mindset to innovate for real-world problems. These findings provided empirical information that are essential for learning analytics applications in predicting learners' performance and diagnosing instructional practices. Implications for future research and practice, as well as addressing publication bias, are highlighted in order to maximize the benefits of the STS approach in science education, Peer Reviewed

The main objective of research is to ascertain the existing situation of STEAM education research over three decades based on the Scopus database. The entire documents are 256 findings globally data shorted by year, region, and highest cited to 100 documents. The analysis technique used VOSViewer, Microsoft Excel and word cloud generator. The result of document type articel is ranks first in Global and conference paper rank first in South East Asia. The sources that have published the top cited papers are “Journal of Small Business Management” in global and the “Education Sciences” in South East Asia. Meanwhile, the author with the most citations is Jeon M from the U.S.A. Specifically, the country with the most publications is US with 31 articles and 2553 citations. Whereas the majority of Southeast Asian countries have 9 articles and 10 citations. Supported the visualization analysis, VOSViewer's global region is divided into 4 clusters and 62 keywords to assist with the visualization analysis. A pair of clusters containing 14 keywords each for the South Asia region. The terms program, project, environment, model, and implication are frequently used in STEAM throughout the world. The keyword STEAM education appears in analyses conducted in South-East Asia. The outcome of this research can serve as a resource for scholars interested in STEAM and education. Further research into STEAM education trends can be conducted by focusing on a single region or on more specific issues, Peer Reviewed

This study aims to summarize the research findings on using socio-scientific issues (SSI) in teaching Science. In recent years, teaching based on socio-scientific issues (SSI) is utilized in science education to promote scientific literacy. A meta-analysis is conducted by calculating the effect size of the 12 studies associated with the SSI implementation in teaching Science published in different regions. The overall effect size was large (1.08), and found that SSI affects teaching science. The effect sizes determined by the categorical variables such as scientific literacy aspects showed that SSI had a large effect on content learning (1.15), competence (0.89), decision-making (1.14), and reasoning (0.81); and year level showed that SSI had a large effect on junior high school (1.43) and senior high school (0.96) while medium effect on college (0.55). Lastly, a significant effect was shown on the moderating effect, such as the class size (p = 0.035), while no significant effect was shown on the duration of implementation (p = 0.487). Considering the effect of SSI in teaching Science, this study could help teachers and educational researchers in science and technology education, Peer Reviewed

In recent years, the presence of the acronym STEAM has been growing in the educational field. All around the world we are faced with a growing demand for professional STEM skills, however, who has the responsibility to train future STEAM teachers? In this article, we explain the results of an investigation with university students pursuing a degree in primary education and Master’s degree students in secondary education, with technology speciality, participating in a seminar about STEAM projects design in two consecutive academic calendar years (18/19 and 19/20). We analyse the responses to a questionnaire which was specifically designed to discover their knowledge about STEAM and the predisposition towards its extended study with a set of semi-structured interviews to delve into the causes of the responses. Previous knowledge about the meaning of STEM and the predisposition of pre-service teachers towards the future design of projects based on the STEAM disciplines are compared. The results show significant differences between the previous knowledge and the perceptions of the teachers from both specializations: primary and secondary level. The results also confirm the low levels of prior knowledge with a slight tendency towards improvement when two consecutive courses are compared. The findings emphasize the need to integrate STEAM teacher training into official curricula, Peer Reviewed

Eastern European countries, in particular Romania, offer much fewer opportunities for science and space outreach and informal science education compared to the West. Romanian Science Festival was founded in 2018 with the aim of answering questions raised by the inquisitive minds of children all over Romania. In 2019, we reached over 20,000 people with our live events: open-air science festivals, space talks and astronomical observations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we organised 58 live webinars of over 75 hours in total, one of the largest scientific resources in the Romanian language. Moreover, we visited 150 schools across the country, including rural areas, providing an opportunity for students to meet scientists online. Space-related topics are a key focus of the science festival as they are not included in the Romanian school curriculum. That is why the resources in the form of the expertise and career orientation offered by our mentors are so valuable to the students. The topics we address include Astronomy (asteroids, black holes, extrasolar planets, etc.), Space Exploration, Satellite Design and Earth Observations. In 2021 and 2022 we organised the ‘Space month’ during which thousands of students had the opportunity to discover careers in space, participate in competitions, meet the only Romanian astronaut, Dumitru Prunariu, in celebrations of 40 years’ of his space flight and a former NASA director of Astrophysics. Through mentorship, students discover opportunities to study and do research in astronomy. All these activities expose the public to the latest discoveries in the field, thus highlighting the importance of investing in fundamental research. This is just the beginning. The Romanian Science Festival story will continue because our team is determined to create a systemic impact in education. We will continue to add new chapters, stimulating the curiosity and imagination of people fascinated by science and space.

STEM education is a new interdisciplinary concept that fuses the learning objectives of sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. After concluding that many undergraduate students are not interested in STEM disciplines and taking into account the admiration for space, a series of educational activities have been developed to increase their engagement in this field. The proposed project-based workshops are diverse: designing and launching High Altitude Balloons; building water rockets; protecting an egg from the impact with the ground after being dropped from a drone; designing and building paper gliders; 3D printing customzied quadcopters, etc. One of the most impressive activities consisted of designing, manufacturing and launching a low-cost high-altitude balloon to take photographs of the stratosphere. To do so, a kit was developed and validated: this contains a GPS tracker, a camera, an EPS box, a parachute and a helium balloon. The selection of the components was done trying to minimize the operational cost and maximizing the reliability of the design; the final High Altitude balloon weights 350g and has reached altitudes around 27.000 - 30.000 m. The educational activity is a 3 to 4 days workshop in which the students go through the process of building their own HAB, launching it and eventually recovering it to obtain the photographs. The activities have been implemented in multiple schools and high schools in Catalonia, and all of them have shown excellent results. After evaluating the reasons why the workshops were well-received, it was concluded that students were more implicated than in standard lectures because they went from a passive to an active mindset. Moreover, the workshops were designed to make them become curious and increase their eagerness to learn, while forcing them to think and to take important decisions that ultimately influence the final result, rather than observing and admiring somebody else’s work

The nowadays European educational framework boosts applying the learned theoretical concepts to real situations. Hence, practice sessions are key resources to present students direct applications of the theoretical concepts shown in class. Thus, developing new educational equipment and practice sessions oriented to bringing theoretical knowledge closer to practice should be one of the objectives of teachers. The present work describes a solution proposed by lectures of two Spanish universities looking to increase the knowledge of their engineering students. Along the years, these docents have noticed the lack of connection between the theoretical and practical knowledge among their students, drastically harming their learning procedure. Thus, in order to deepen into practical learning, a teaching methodology involving low cost prototypes of vapor compression systems and a gamification method to help the students understand the concepts is proposed. The proposed methodology is expected to make a big positive impact on the results obtained by the students, taking into account the preliminary results reached, Peer Reviewed

The present work depicts the development of an experimental equipment that reveals compressible fluid dynamics, while collecting data from an incompressible flow like water in an open-channel. It consists of an extensive theoretical framework followed by a practical analysis, the aim of which was to trigger the hydraulic jump, both normal and oblique, in order to illustrate its hydro-gasdynamic analogy with a shock wave, occurring in supersonic compressible flows. The assembly, called “water table”, arises from the necessity of economical alternatives to expensive supersonic wind tunnels in the experimental study of compressible flows. Thus, a canal based on a Laval nozzle was constructed where water flow could experiment a hydraulic jump. Through its visual and experimental perception, fellow interested could more easily understand the physics and engineering behind this phenomenon. Multiple design alternatives were evaluated considering environmental, economic, functional and aesthetic factors. A low-cost implementation was critical in the design process. The measurements revealed that the geometry of the nozzle and the wedges designed as obstacles to cause obliquity were the most influential elements in the formation of a hydraulic jump in the set-up. Regarding the experimental variables, the upstream and downstream heights had the highest relevance. Therefore, their manipulation and analysis could lead to further educational investigations. This research is a step forward to support students in the understanding of compressible flow principles by providing an in-house experimental set-up. The equipment is an opportunity of carrying out lab measurements, which certainly guides to a major commitment in the field, Postprint (published version)

Pre-service teachers need creative thinking and problem solving skills to support their teaching quality. The aims of this research: (1) problems in science teaching, creative thinking and problem solving skills of pre-service teachers; (2) improvements of creative thinking and problem solving skills of pre-service teachers through Ethno-SETSaR Science Teaching Approach, and (3) relationship pattern of critical thinking and problem solving skills. The research method applied in this study was sequential exploratory mix method. The research design consisted of five stages: 1) qualitative data gathering; 2) qualitative data analysis; 3) quantitative data gathering; 4) quantitative data analysis and 5) data interpretation. The subjects of this research were 80 pre-service teachers from two universities. The research instruments were essay tests of creative and problem solving skills. The data analysis used was independent T Test. It could be concluded from qualitative study that science teaching practice was still oriented on content knowledge mastery. It did not improve creative thinking and problem solving skills. Science teaching with Ethno-SETSaR approach was applied as foundation to quantitative study. The result of quantitative study was there was difference in creative thinking and problem solving skills of pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers enrolling science teaching with Ethno-SETSaR approach had higher scores. There was correlation of creative thinking affecting problem solving skills, Peer Reviewed

In the past decade, scientific process skills and scientific attitudes are widely regarded as essential factors influencing students’ achievement and their future career choices. Unfortunately, previous literature found that students’ scientific skills and attitudes tend to be unsatisfactory. Thus, cultivating students’ skills and attitudes is seen as a fundamental goal in science education. This research sought to promote scientific process skills and scientific attitudes of pre-service chemistry teachers using REORCILEA (Research-Oriented Collaborative Inquiry Learning). In this quasi-experimental research, a one-group pretest and posttest design was utilized. A total of 50 pre-service teachers (6 males and 44 females) at a medium-sized public university in Indonesia were recruited in this study. In order to gather data, the Scientific Process Skills Observation Checklist (SPSOC) and the Scientific Attitude Survey (SAS) were administered before and after the intervention. The data obtained in this study were analyzed through paired-samples t-test and Cohen’s d. The results showed a significant increase from pretest to posttest in scientific process skills and scientific attitude scores during treatment, each with a high effect size. It can be summarized that REORCILEA is effective in fostering scientific skills and positive attitudes of pre-service chemistry teachers to a satisfactory level. It is recommended for educators to apply REORCILEA to other college chemistry courses to improve their performance, Peer Reviewed

STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is widespread around the globe, with various theoretical frameworks and challenges from practical perspectives. In classroom practice, teacher readiness to conduct STEM learning is essential for its successful implementation. This study explores physics teachers’ readiness for STEM education using the Alignment, Capabilities, Engagement, or ACE, framework. Data collection is based on 101 teachers’ responses to six open-ended questions. Interestingly, all the teachers showed strong alignment with STEM education and how to implement it. Most of them have known STEM education as integrating technology, engineering, and mathematics to science (physics), but only about half of them have experience conducting STEM lessons. They have basic capabilities of identifying the possibilities of implementation in various physics curricula, such as motion, electricity, and fluids. However, in the online learning made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility of implementation is weakened. The teachers showed their engagement to explore more detail in designing and implementing STEM in their classrooms. Also reflected in the study was a significant challenge in terms of pedagogical and time management. Therefore, professional development in STEM education is essential to support teachers’ alignment, capabilities, and engagement to develop their readiness. As specific examples, STEM learning materials in motion, electricity, and fluids could help teachers understand the design and implementation of STEM education, Peer Reviewed

Education in the 21st century was assigned by rapidly increasing advances in information and communication technologies. Integrated learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) was one of the learning trends of the 21st century. A no-test tool has been developed that is used to measure lecturers’ perception of the STEM approach. Based on the results of the analysis and data processing, the non-test instruments were reliable and valid. The results of the Cronbach alpha tests were 0.750 for the material, 0.896 for the construct, and 0.778 for the language. This Cronbach alpha number was included in the high-reliability category with a Cronbach alpha number > 0.05. The average validity value of the expert approval for the instrument, on the other hand, rose from 81.5% (good category) to 93% (very good category). Moreover, Cohen’s kappa coefficients were 0.038, 0.033, and -0.019. Somehow, this means that there was little agreement between the compared experts. The results showed that the lecturers’ perception of the STEM learning approach was predominantly very good. However, the willingness of the lecturers strongly influences the implementation of STEM in their learning, Peer Reviewed

The new ESA member states are an important factor in the development of European sustainability and independence in space. Cooperation between European countries in the field of space, gives a strong conviction that we operate without borders in space. It is therefore necessary to create not so much international links, but rather supranational ones. This also applies to space education. One of the primary missions of ESA is to create a community of highly specialized engineers, managers, as well as scientists who will focus on developing the space economy and allowing societies to understand our role and interactions with space. Based on the experience gained in the period after Poland's accession to ESA, the authors would like to emphasize the role of key educational pathways that can guide ESA officers in new member countries and in any country that has already entered ESA structures or plans to enter in the near future. The authors would like to emphasize that there are several ways to share and improve knowledge and would like to present the main insights of the study conducted in this respect. Drawing on the Polish space industry and using it as a reference basis, but also applying some observations from the Czech Republic and now Latvia, the authors identified the following main learning paths: • The activity of students within student associations, who implement space projects through dedicated programs; • The role of YGTs who, after a period of training at ESA, return with a set of knowledge to their countries; • The importance of the know-how of the international space market, in particular global companies setting up subsidiaries in new ESA member countries and bringing their experience and knowledge there; • Dedicated educational programs for people who do not have a formal space education (engineering) but want to develop in various areas of the space industry; The sequence of the presented educational pathways is not accidental. The authors want to pre