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Professional development is important for all teachers to improve the quality of teaching. This study is aimed to investigate the trends of professional development strategy and learning outcome in 2015-2019. A systematic review was used in analyzing 267 articles published between 2015 and 2019 in the Teaching and Teacher Education. The findings showed that the trend of professional development strategy is more collaborative and using collegial learning environment, and the trend of learning outcomes which developed through PD programs is more focused on the ability to teach, ability to manage the classroom, and ability to understand the subject field. These findings suggest future studies to develop professional development programs with collaborative and collegial learning environments to develop learning outcomes on practicing new instructional strategies.

This is a hermeneutic phenomenological study that describes and interprets Wong's, the first author lived experience in the borderlands of science and Buddhist mindfulness as a science education doctoral student in Thailand. I explore my experiences in learning with multiple mindfulness teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh from Buddhist traditions. and Additionally, I explore the affordances of being in the borderland of science and Buddhism, and how Buddhism can expand the border of science education through the inclusion of important topics, such as mindfulness, emotional wellbeing, and interbeing. This study also examines the roadblocks that are preventing deeper integration of science and mindfulness, including empiricism, scientism, individualism, materialism, and dualism. My standpoint is that to overcome the 21st grand challenges, teachers of science need to have the courage to cross the borders of various disciplines and help students develop essential skills for cultivating a healthy, balanced, and mindful lifestyle.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education plays an important role in teaching and learning for the 21st century. Science teacher education is making great efforts to prepare STEM teachers for modern classroom practice and enable them to adapt their STEM knowledge and practices to the needs of students' contexts. However, before developing STEM teaching practices, it is important for pre-service teachers to understand the "nature of STEM" (NOSTEM). This study explored pre-service teachers' views of the NOSTEM from both individual and integrative perspectives. The sample consisted of 428 Thai pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in science teacher-education programs. A NOSTEM questionnaire comprising Likert-type items and open-ended questions was used as a research tool. The findings indicated that pre-service teachers had inadequate understandings of NOSTEM definitions, epistemological perspectives, and the impact of culture and society on each STEM discipline. Each STEM discipline has its own characteristics, but the disciplines are similar in terms of their usefulness, processes, and required knowledge. In terms of the integration of STEM, technology uses the application of science, mathematical knowledge, and engineering processes to create tools and utensils. This paper discusses the implications of this study for science teacher-education programs and developing STEM teachers.

Field trip activities are often considered additional activities and are considered recreational activities rather than ones that teach science effectively to students. Field trip activities are one form of effective experience-based learning to train pre-service teachers in the outdoor environment. This study attempted to describe the design of outdoor science learning in the form of the field trip for pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and the condition of psychosocial learning environments in outdoor activities. This research is a case study carried out in a pre-service science teacher training program at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kudus, Indonesia. The field trip was designed with field visits on six objects for three days in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The field trip activity was attended by 70 PSTs. Qualitative data is captured through the documentation of activities at each outdoor learning location. Quantitative data collection instruments included seven psychosocial scales, namely (1) Environmental Interaction; (2) Integration; (3) Students cohesiveness; (4) Teacher supportiveness; (5) Open-endedness; (6) Preparation and organization; (7) Material environment. The field trip design for PSTs recommends activities that lead to observation and exploration of visiting objects relating not only to the content of the science but also to the pedagogical aspects of the science. The psychosocial aspects of PSTs indicate that field trip activities show a positive meaning in all aspects, although there are significant differences in the conditions of expectations and reality experienced by PSTs. The integration aspect is not significantly different. The decline in perception is still at the medium level, and the condition of the perception is still at a positive level. Research and development studies that emphasize the process of integrating classroom learning with outdoor activities can be carried out further to be able to give meaning to science learning, which is not limited by classrooms or laboratories.

The lack of bridges between formal science taught in schools and indigenous STEM knowledge is a problem that leads to the abandonment of cultural values and local wisdom. This article aimed to (1) describe the traditional salt production process by farmers and their living values education (LVE), and (2) transform indigenous STEM knowledge into scientific knowledge that can be applied to school science learning. This research was conducted in Central Java, Indonesia using observation, interviews, and literature and document review. A qualitative, ethnographic approach revealed that the traditional salt production process includes (1) draining the land; (2) making plots; (3) draining the pond plots; (4) compaction of the land surface; (5) seawater drainage; and (6) harvesting the salt. Identifiable living values include collaboration, simplicity, happiness, responsibility, and corporation. Indigenous knowledge is found in salt farmers' understanding of the characteristics and the process of salt crystal formation and their use of traditional equipment. Indigenous STEM knowledge can be transformed into school science learning materials as an example of integrating LVE.

Argument skills play a crucial role in fostering students' scientific literacy. Students who possess such skills can employ reason and evidence to make decisions. This classroom action research was aimed at investigating the best practices for teaching chemistry to promote argument skills through socioscientific issues (SSI). The participants were 46 Thai students in Grade 12 (students aged approximately 17 years old) studying petroleum chemistry in the first semester of the 2014 academic year. To research my own teaching, I collected data from classroom observation, my reflective journals, the students' reflective journals, and an argument skill questionnaire (ASQ). Debating on petroleum-related issues helped the students to practice and improve their reasoning skills, and it showed them the importance of using evidence to formulate a reliable argument. The competition to answer questions in class also allowed students to practice reasoning. Finally, the ASQ results indicate that teaching through SSI can improve students' argument skills. The implication of the pedagogy of argumentation in science classroom is discussed.

This study investigated the development of Bhutanese students' views of the nature of science (NOS) as they engaged in an explicit and reflective approach. Seven aspects of NOS were integrated into the chemistry content in two learning units titled "matter and its composition" and "study of gas laws" over a time span of 6 weeks in a 9th Grade class. This study employed mixed method approaches which included the use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and a review of students' journals, and assignments. Data were analyzed for established patterns and themes. Students' views of the NOS in pre-instruction and post-instruction were categorized as naïve, transitional, or informed. The results indicated that at the end of the intervention, students' views of the NOS had improved. It was seen that NOS-specific pedagogical knowledge and subject knowledge played an important role in the teacher's ability to enhance students' views of the NOS.

Modern lifestyle that is based on ideologies such as consumerism, individualism and materialism has led to overconsumption, mass extinction and climate change in the world and threatens the wellbeing of every member on this planet. An increasing number of studies indicate that mindfulness practice may address the socio-ecological challenges of sustainability through nurturing a non-dualistic worldview, empathy and compassion. This study adopts a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore how the philosophy and practice of mindful consumption and the insight of interbeing might contribute to a more connected and conscious community. We include the first-person narratives from a female British teacher-researcher, who used what she had learned from the Plum Village monastery to develop a mindfulness program for elementary school students, parents and teachers in a Thai public school for the past 11 years. Her story unveils the issues regarding different perspectives of mindfulness among various wisdom traditions, and the challenges in teaching and researching mindfulness practice as a foreign lay practitioner in Thailand. We concluded that embracing polysemia and respecting the existence of every human being, animal, plant and mineral of the whole ecosystem is vital for meaningful transformations at individual and societal level.

Purpose: This study explores how lesson study (LS) can enhance teacher candidates' ability to develop their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Design/methodology/approach: A multiple case study design was undertaken using the social-constructivist paradigm. The authors explored similarities and differences within and among four cases of teacher candidates who collaborated with a cooperating teacher and a university mentor. The data were collected from field observations, post-lesson discussions and follow-up interviews; it was then content analyzed and validated using negative case analysis. Findings: Learning from post-lesson discussions within their own LS clusters, including a teacher candidate, his/her cooperating teacher and university mentor, could help teacher candidates develop their PCK for STEM, rather than gain experience through several rounds of LS engagement. The foci of post-lesson discussions, which were discussed by each LS cluster the most, were students' context, teaching and STEM prototypes, while knowledge of instructional strategies for teaching STEM was mostly related to the previously mentioned foci. Teacher candidates' confidence in teaching STEM lessons seemed to improve when they designed and discussed the overall lessons with their LS clusters. Originality/value: The STEM-specific LS model was proposed to support the exploration of the struggles and successes of student learning before designing the purpose of the LS and enacting its phases; the implementation of LS could be the tool for enhancing teacher candidates' PCK for STEM teaching.

This study is aimed at exploring ninth-grade Bhutanese students' views of nature of science (NOS). A total of 389 students from middle secondary and higher secondary schools from the eastern, western, southern and central regions of Bhutan took part in this study. To generate a representative population, a stratified random sampling technique was used. An adopted and adapted version of the Students Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI) comprised Likert-type items, and open-ended questions were used as a research tool. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and the qualitative data were analysed and categorized into naïve, transitional and informed views. The results indicated that the majority of the Bhutanese students held naïve views on sociocultural embeddedness, scientific laws, scientific theories and science as a body of knowledge. The study has an implication for curriculum developers and teaching professionals, particularly in culturally rich countries, that explicit instruction of NOS should be reframed based on students' cultural backgrounds and their indigenous knowledge.

Every classroom environment reflects the cultural features of the country where it is located. In this study, with a focus on cultural features, we compared the science classroom environments of two Asian countries: Korea and Thailand. For this, What Is Happening In this Class (WIHIC) and the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ) were administered to 1575 students (765 from Korea and 810 from Thailand) in Grades 4, 6, 8, and 10. The results of two instruments were analyzed and discussed with a particular focus on the four cultural dimensions in science classrooms, which were reframed from Hofstede's four cultural dimensions. The results of the analysis can be summarized as follows. First, regarding the first dimension, relationships between individuals and groups, students in both countries liked collaborative activities and had many emotional exchanges in their classrooms. However, cognitive collaborative activities occurred more frequently in Thailand than in Korea. Second, regarding the second dimension, equity issues, almost all students in Korea perceived that they participated equally in science classrooms. However, in Thailand, students thought they had equal participation in science classrooms except for the gender aspects. That is, Thai boys and girls were reported themselves to be participating in different ways in their classrooms. Third, regarding the third dimension, relationships between students and teachers, two kinds of relationships were investigated: teacher authority and teacher support. In terms of teacher authority, the extent of psychological distance between students' and their teachers' power was similar in the two countries. However, in terms of teacher support, Thai students had more positive perceptions about teacher support than Korean students did. Fourth, regarding the features of science teaching and learning processes, Korean students had more negative perceptions of involvement, investigation, and task orientation than Thai students did. The negative responses of Korean students could be the cause of the low engagement of Korean students in their science classrooms. Based on these results, educational implications are discussed in terms of culturally appropriate pedagogies in science classrooms.

While increased attention has been put on approaches to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), little has been reported on teachers' views, perceptions, and beliefs about teaching STEM. Such knowledge is needed to inform efforts to support innovative teaching of STEM subjects in classrooms. In this study, 154 in-service teachers of both STEM-related and non-STEM related subjects, were randomly selected from schools all over Thailand. Data on teachers' perceptions were captured through a three-part questionnaire including an open-ended question that asked for general background information and perceptions of STEM education and STEM integration. Descriptive statistics were used to analyzed data and content analysis was used to analyze open-ended responses. Research findings showed that the majority of teachers (85.5%) had never heard about STEM education and approximately 19% of in-service teachers could not provide a definition of STEM education, with 20.53% of the teachers viewing STEM as a transdisciplinary course or program. While teachers think that a STEM teaching approach is very interesting, both STEM and non-STEM in-service teachers have strong concerns about the engineering discipline within STEM disciplines.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of a pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) based STEM professional development programme on the perceptions of teachers regarding STEM education and the implementation of STEM activities. Method: The study incorporated a mixed-method approach that involved a pre- and post-survey, classroom observations, teachers' reflective journals and their lesson plans. Findings: The results show that the professional development programme had a significantly positive effect on science teachers' attitudes towards STEM education on their knowledge and application of it. The outcome also indicated that the science teachers had a well-developed understanding of the essential nature of engineering and science. Engaging with the PCK-based STEM professional development programme helped the teachers to diagnose and improve their own STEM teaching ability. From engaging in hands-on activity, the teachers learned more about the nature of STEM. They participated in a cycle of designing and implementing their own STEM lessons and engaged with the reflections of their facilitators and peers on their STEM teaching. Significance: This study provides policy makers, teacher educators and curriculum developers with information about enhancing science teachers' expertise in the teaching of STEM.

Pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the nature of science (PCK for NOS) has attracted interest in recent decades. This study investigated the PCK for NOS of six novice chemistry teachers with various educational backgrounds. An interpretive case study was performed. Multiple data sources including classroom observations, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and teachers' artifacts were collected. The inductive process used to analyze data involved categorical aggregation, followed by a search for patterns and themes. The findings revealed that all participants had limited PCK for NOS in terms of all of its components. They had robust chemistry knowledge and expressed adequate views of a few aspects of NOS. The teachers focused only on the chemistry content and rarely taught or reflected NOS in their real practices. The findings indicate that the teachers did not reflect or teach NOS, which might have resulted from inadequacies in their teacher preparation courses, which did not greatly emphasize teaching NOS. The results of this research indicate that science educators and professional developers should use PCK for NOS not only as a lens to shed light on teachers' teaching of NOS but also as a framework to revisit the teaching of NOS in science teacher preparation courses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the analytical thinking abilities and attitudes towards science learning of grade-11 students through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education integrated with a problem-based learning in the study of stoichiometry. The research tools consisted of a pre- and post-analytical thinking ability test, a science learning attitude test, classroom observations, student reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that STEM learning activities based on problem-based learning successfully developed analytical thinking abilities and attitudes towards science learning. Consequently, the students realized how important theories are, and were able to integrate their knowledge from various fields to solve problems and to create new innovations. About 80% of the students showed higher analytical thinking ability scores above the prescribed criterion of 70% of the full score. After learning, the scores of the students were higher than those before learning at a confidence level of 0.01. The attitudes towards science learning were higher than those before learning at a confidence level of 0.01. The successful activities of STEM started with offering knowledge to students through an inquiry-based process until they could construct the knowledge on their own. After that, the teacher initiated a problem situation and allowed each group of students to create a useful product adopted from the experimental results via integrating STEM knowledge to modify their creative works.

As a key element in teacher education programmes, action research is a learning process in which pre-service teachers inquire, reflect on and improve their teaching practices. This qualitative study sought to understand what enhanced or hindered Thai pre-service teachers' action research projects during their student teaching. This study drew upon written reflections, focus-group interviews and observations of seminar sessions. Data analysis was inductive, involving categorical aggregation followed by a search for correspondence and patterns. The results indicated that the pre-service teachers misunderstood action research, and also held a negative attitude toward it, both of which led them to superficial analyses of practice. They struggled with time limitations, data gathering and interpretation strategies. In spite of the struggles they experienced, these pre-service science teachers did learn more about the action research through collaboratively working with cooperating teachers and university supervisors and on-campus seminar discussions held concurrently with the fifth year internship. Recognizing and understanding the reasons and thinking patterns at the root of these teachers' difficulties with learning about action research can form the basis for reflecting on and rethinking the components of science teacher preparation programmes in Thailand.

In this study, I, the first author as a Thai teacher educator employed self-study as a research methodology to investigate my own understandings, questions, and curiosities about pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science student teachers and the ways I engaged student teachers in a field-based science methods course designed to help them to develop their PCK. Qualitative data gathered included: the syllabi, handouts, work submitted by student teachers, student teachers' journal entries, my journal entries, and video recordings of my classroom teaching. Data were analysed using an inductive process to identify ways in which I attempted to enhance student teachers' PCK. The contributions of this study are insights generated to help teacher educators think about how to support and develop student teachers' PCK. Some of these contributions are enhancing teacher educators' PCK for teaching science teachers, developing PCK for teaching science, and designing a science methods course in science teacher preparation programmes.

The nature of science (NOS) has become a central goal of science education in many countries. This study sought an understanding of the extent to which a nature of science course (NOSC), designed according to the conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching nature of science (NOS), affects in-service science teachers' understanding and learning of NOS, and their orientations towards teaching it. A qualitative research approach was employed as a research methodology, drawing upon pre- and post-instruction NOS questionnaires, field notes, and in-service teachers' weekly journal entries and assignments. Open-ended NOS questionnaires, used to assess participants' understandings of NOS, were analysed and categorized as either informed, partially informed and naive. Other qualitative data were analysed through an inductive process to identify ways in-service teachers engaged and learned in the NOSC. The results indicate that at the beginning of the course, a majority of the in-service science teachers held naive understandings of NOS, particularly with respect to the definition of science, scientific inquiry, and differences between laws and theories. They viewed implicit project-based science and science process skills as goals of NOS instruction. By engaging in the course, the in-service science teachers developed an understanding of NOS and orientations to teaching NOS based on various elements, especially reflective and explicit instruction, role modelling, and content- and non-content embedded instruction. The aim of this study is to help science teacher educators, consider how to support and develop science teachers' understandings of NOS while being mindful of PCK for NOS, and develop methods for teaching NOS frameworks.

The literature is replete with studies about the importance of context in relation to teaching and learning. Major international studies such as PISA, among others, attempt to develop an understanding of achievement in science learning in a variety of educational contexts. Here we explore the influence of educational context itself on science learning as measured by PISA. Comparison is made between two countries: one developed or "western" nation, New Zealand, and one non-western developing nation from southeast Asia, Thailand. In this work the authors seek to establish links between the nature of the educational context (based on Lave's notion of situated cognition) and achievement in the PISA science evaluation exercise. (Contains 1 figure.)

Scientific literacy is a critical competency for people to take an essential role in science, technology, and social advancement. It is important to note that this competence is still a problem for most students worldwide. Therefore, this study analysed students' scientific literacy differences between a project-based learning flipped classroom (PjBL-FC) and a project-based learning (PjBL) class assisted by learning resources in wetlands environments. This quasi-experimental study used a non-equivalent control group design involving Class X Senior High School as the sample. The data were inferentially analysed by t-test. The results showed that the scientific literacy of students in the class that applied the PjBL-FC was better than those who applied only PjBL. Furthermore, all the indicators reach the high to very high category except the ability to propose a hypothesis, which is in the medium category. It was concluded that flipped classroom makes the PjBL take place more efficiently and effectively. Further studies can be carried out to determine how students use the learning materials, how teachers design the PjBL strategy in an online platform, their effect on scientific literacy, and how to combine PjBL with other approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the science curricula of Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. This study was undertaken to compare science curricula and determine which scientists' current practices, such as hypothesizing, are represented in science curricula. A cross-case analysis was carried out using the junior science curriculum (ages 12-14) of these countries. The analysis revealed similarities in the science curriculum, including that the purpose of the science curriculum is to develop scientific literacy. The junior secondary science curriculum content tends to consist of biology, physics, chemistry, and earth and space sciences. Students are prescribed no more than 10 hours/week, and each science curriculum displays processes commonly associated with scientific experimentation and, to a lesser degree, modeling. Student-centered learning and inquiry are promoted as the main approaches in the science curriculum, and learning outcomes are assessed by teachers using exam-based and non-exam methods both as a formative and summative assessment. The analysis uncovered key differences. One example of key differences is the purposes of the science curriculum. Indonesia includes spiritual attitude and making decisions in daily life. Vietnam includes awareness of natural science. Thailand includes nationalism, life skills, and creativity. Integrated science is included only in Indonesia's curriculum. It was found that Indonesian students have more time to learn science than other countries, followed by Vietnamese and Thai students. Vietnam's curriculum clearly includes practices involving judgment about data, revision of ideas, and constructing explanations. Indonesia promotes a scientific approach. Vietnam promotes the scientific method, whereas Thailand promotes the scientific method and scientific inquiry as to their main pedagogical approaches. Finally, Indonesia and Thailand have large-scale assessments at the national level for graduation requirements on science subjects. However, there is no apparent national science examination in Vietnam at the junior level. These ostensible alignments suggest that science curriculum development is increasingly global and that there is evidence of unified representations of practices associated with science. The study will be of significance to science educators, government ministries, and international bodies of education who seek to develop science curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This study aimed to investigate the impact of a pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) based STEM professional development programme on the perceptions of teachers regarding STEM education and the implementation of STEM activities. Method - The study incorporated a mixed-method approach that involved a pre- and post-survey, classroom observations, teachers' reflective journals and their lesson plans. Findings - The results show that the professional development programme had a significantly positive effect on science teachers' attitudes towards STEM education on their knowledge and application of it. The outcome also indicated that the science teachers had a well-developed understanding of the essential nature of engineering and science. Engaging with the PCK-based STEM professional development programme helped the teachers to diagnose and improve their own STEM teaching ability. From engaging in hands-on activity, the teachers learned more about the nature of STEM. They participated in a cycle of designing and implementing their own STEM lessons and engaged with the reflections of their facilitators and peers on their STEM teaching. Significance - This study provides policy makers, teacher educators and curriculum developers with information about enhancing science teachers' expertise in the teaching of STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education plays an important role in teaching and learning for the 21st century. Science teacher education is making great efforts to prepare STEM teachers for modern classroom practice and enable them to adapt their STEM knowledge and practices to the needs of students' contexts. However, before developing STEM teaching practices, it is important for pre-service teachers to understand the "nature of STEM" (NOSTEM). This study explored pre-service teachers' views of the NOSTEM from both individual and integrative perspectives. The sample consisted of 428 Thai pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in science teacher-education programs. A NOSTEM questionnaire comprising Likert-type items and open-ended questions was used as a research tool. The findings indicated that pre-service teachers had inadequate understandings of NOSTEM definitions, epistemological perspectives, and the impact of culture and society on each STEM discipline. Each STEM discipline has its own characteristics, but the disciplines are similar in terms of their usefulness, processes, and required knowledge. In terms of the integration of STEM, technology uses the application of science, mathematical knowledge, and engineering processes to create tools and utensils. This paper discusses the implications of this study for science teacher-education programs and developing STEM teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of teachers' attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge towards integrated STEM. The participants in this study were 185 Indonesian teachers from the eastern, western, and central regions of Indonesia with the difference in ethnic and culture. The exploration of these three domains was based on the demographic data, teachers' attributes, and their contribution to the educational system. An adopted and adapted STEM questionnaire was administered online which comprises the Likert-scale items that were used as a research tool. The results showed that the teachers have a positive correlation between the attitude and knowledge towards integrated STEM, especially for the quality of education in Indonesia. The implication of this research was about the possibility to elaborate further on the domain of components or sub-components that is related to the current problems faced by teachers towards integrated STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argument skills play a crucial role in fostering students' scientific literacy. Students who possess such skills can employ reason and evidence to make decisions. This classroom action research was aimed at investigating the best practices for teaching chemistry to promote argument skills through socioscientific issues (SSI). The participants were 46 Thai students in Grade 12 (students aged approximately 17 years old) studying petroleum chemistry in the first semester of the 2014 academic year. To research my own teaching, I collected data from classroom observation, my reflective journals, the students' reflective journals, and an argument skill questionnaire (ASQ). Debating on petroleum-related issues helped the students to practice and improve their reasoning skills, and it showed them the importance of using evidence to formulate a reliable argument. The competition to answer questions in class also allowed students to practice reasoning. Finally, the ASQ results indicate that teaching through SSI can improve students' argument skills. The implication of the pedagogy of argumentation in science classroom is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While increased attention has been put on approaches to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), little has been reported on teachers' views, perceptions, and beliefs about teaching STEM. Such knowledge is needed to inform efforts to support innovative teaching of STEM subjects in classrooms. In this study, 154 in-service teachers of both STEM-related and non-STEM related subjects, were randomly selected from schools all over Thailand. Data on teachers' perceptions were captured through a three-part questionnaire including an open-ended question that asked for general background information and perceptions of STEM education and STEM integration. Descriptive statistics were used to analyzed data and content analysis was used to analyze open-ended responses. Research findings showed that the majority of teachers (85.5%) had never heard about STEM education and approximately 19% of in-service teachers could not provide a definition of STEM education, with 20.53% of the teachers viewing STEM as a transdisciplinary course or program. While teachers think that a STEM teaching approach is very interesting, both STEM and non-STEM in-service teachers have strong concerns about the engineering discipline within STEM disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key element in teacher education programmes, action research is a learning process in which pre-service teachers inquire, reflect on and improve their teaching practices. This qualitative study sought to understand what enhanced or hindered Thai pre-service teachers' action research projects during their student teaching. This study drew upon written reflections, focus-group interviews and observations of seminar sessions. Data analysis was inductive, involving categorical aggregation followed by a search for correspondence and patterns. The results indicated that the pre-service teachers misunderstood action research, and also held a negative attitude toward it, both of which led them to superficial analyses of practice. They struggled with time limitations, data gathering and interpretation strategies. In spite of the struggles they experienced, these pre-service science teachers did learn more about the action research through collaboratively working with cooperating teachers and university supervisors and on-campus seminar discussions held concurrently with the fifth year internship. Recognizing and understanding the reasons and thinking patterns at the root of these teachers' difficulties with learning about action research can form the basis for reflecting on and rethinking the components of science teacher preparation programmes in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The literature is replete with studies about the importance of context in relation to teaching and learning. Major international studies such as PISA, among others, attempt to develop an understanding of achievement in science learning in a variety of educational contexts. Here we explore the influence of educational context itself on science learning as measured by PISA. Comparison is made between two countries: one developed or 'western' nation, New Zealand, and one non-western developing nation from southeast Asia, Thailand. In this work the authors seek to establish links between the nature of the educational context (based on Lave's notion of situated cognition) and achievement in the PISA science evaluation exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the journey of four Thai pre-service chemistry teachers as they sought to develop their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) throughout a PCK-based chemistry methods course and field experience. In an interpretive case study approach we drew upon classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, chemistry con tent knowledge surveys, beliefs surveys and documents as data sources. Data analysis was inductive involving categorical aggregation, followed by a search for correspondence and patterns. The findings indicate that at the beginning of the PCK-based chemistry methods course, the pre-service chemistry teachers had a limited background and restricted educational foundation experiences. Through the methods course, they developed their PCK and broadened their views about the nature of science, and learner-centred views of teaching and learning. During their field experiences, they were able to incorporate their methods course learning into their lesson planning appropriately but they faced some difficulties in enacting their PCK in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]