STEM Integration in Middle Schools: Challenges and Perspectives

This research paper explores the incorporation of STEM education in middle schools through the lens of science educators. It provides an insightful examination of the pedagogical shifts required for effective interdisciplinary teaching and learning that STEM integration necessitates. The study outlines the unique challenges faced by teachers, including resource constraints, curriculum adjustments, and professional development needs. Furthermore, it discusses the potential benefits such as enhanced student engagement, real-world application of knowledge, and preparation for future careers in technology-driven fields. By gathering data from science educators' perspectives, this paper contributes to a better understanding of STEM education's practical implementation and its impact on both teachers and students.

Running head: STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
Role of Educational Leadership in Raising Teachers’ Performance through Training on Using
of STEM Program in Saudi Arabia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
Summary of project with reference to participants
STEM model of education refers to the integrated model of education that is inclusive
of the academic subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The STEM
system find its implications in a number of fields including those of the development of
workforce, the policies of immigration and the concerns that pertain to the national security.
The following composition aims to propose a research paper based on the role of the teachers
in the implementation of the STEM model of education in the educational institutions that are
located in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The study also takes into consideration the
training that needs to be provided to the teachers to aid them in the successful implementation
of the model.

2STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
INTRODUCTION
STEM system refers to the academic fields of science, technology, engineering and
mathematics. The acronym that was used for the four fields is known as the METS system.
This acronym took birth after a science education meeting between the various agencies that
was chaired by Rita Colwell at the US National Science Foundation. This term is generally
used to address the policies pertaining to education and the choice of curriculum thereby help
to improve the existing competitiveness among the students in the departments of technology
and science. The STEM system find its implications in a number of fields. These fields
include the development of workforce, the policies of immigration and the concerns that
pertain to the national security. The education systems and institutions such as the schools
play a huge role in the determination of the interest of the students in the subjects that are
covered within the STEM system. These institutions also look into the fact that the students
are provided with equal opportunities to access as well as benefit from the education of the
STEM subjects.
In the Arabian region there has been a serious issue regarding the poor quality of the
education that was being provided along with the high number of unemployed youth, which
amounts to almost 30% of the total population of the Arabian Countries. It is observed that
$0% of the employers are dissatisfied with the employees who lack proper skill and
knowledge. The skills they lack the most constitute of those that are required in order to deal
with the multi-faceted problems and the ways to devise integrative and creative solutions for
the problems.

3STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
RESEARCH DESIGN AND APPROACH
Research Paradigm
The proposed study requires the inputs on the perceptions and the attitudes of the
teachers and the students that are involved in the study of the subjects of science,
mathematics, engineering and technology. Thus, the research paradigm that needs to be
applied to this study is the constructivist or the interpretivist approach. In this approach
towards research, the qualitative methods gain predominance over the quantitative methods,
which are also used in the activity of this research.
Literature Review
In the primary steps that are undertaken in the research, relevant literatures were
reviewed. According to El-Deghaidy & Mansour, (2015) the subjects of science and
mathematics were taught from the starting point of education through the tenth standard as
mandatory subjects in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian schools include both of these
subjects in the eleventh and the twelfth standards only for those students who choose to
pursue the scientific stream of education. The teacher orientation programs are based on the
disciplines that the teachers are supposed to import education. These teachers are generally
trained for their jobs through the various institutions that are dedicated towards the education
of the teachers. The teachers are observed to prepare as well as deliver the lessons
independently in the classrooms. This helps in the setting of the tone in which the teachers of
various disciplines may interact across and within a number of disciplines.
On the contrary, Heba et al (2017) argues that multidisciplinary learning refers to the
type of knowledge gathering whereby the various fields of knowledge are combined though
they remain separable and independent from the others. The interdisciplinary approaches to
learning refers to the approach where the fields of study are integrated and the boundaries of

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these disciplines are blurred. The learners need to have a number of cognitive skills in order
to process the knowledge that they gather. This helps them in the producing of a meaningful
understanding of the interdisciplinary knowledge that they acquire. Thus, interdisciplinary
learnings may be described as a radical restructuring of the complete process of learning.
This may be possible through the construction of a model of integrative education, which
may be based on the modern methodologies of curricula designing and pedagogy (Crampton,
Ragusa & Cavanagh, 2012).
The radical learning structure is known to provide for a linkage to the context of the
real world and for the quality in the learning (Erdogan et al, 2016; Hernandez et al, 2014).
According to Biasutti and EL-Deghaidy (2012), the interdisciplinary learning systems affect
the development of the skills that affect the knowledge management. According to Bybee
(2013), there are nine different perspectives to the STEM method of education. These
methods range from considering STEM to be a singular reference system to the same being
referred to as a transdisciplinary program. STEM may be understood as having an
interdisciplinary nature, which attempts to have a focus on solving problems in an authentic
manner. The technique followed by the STEM method of education aims to replace the
traditional ways of teaching based on lectures to the ways of learning that are based on the
inquiries, problems and other projects. These ways of learning serve to be a means of
presenting an integrated and meaningful experience of learning that is at times inclusive of
two or more of the four principles fields of study that have been identified in the STEM
education. This interdisciplinary philosophy helps in the development a deep conceptual
understanding of the subject (Biasutti & El-Deghaidy, 2014). In spite of the increase in the
interest towards STEM education, Breiner et al (2012) argues that the promoters of the
system have put in struggle to conceptualize the practices in an institutional setting.

5STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
Vasquez, Comer and Sneider (2013) argue that the practice of STEM education is not
a curriculum in itself. It is rather an approach that helps the teachers in the organization and
the delivery of the instruction in a manner that aids the students in the application of their
knowledge along with their associates in situations that lead to meaningful situations. In order
to implement the ways of imparting knowledge on the STEM disciplines, the teachers need to
be trained accordingly. The examination of the views of the concerned teacher on the STEM
education may prove to be a part of the preparedness for the program implementation (Han et
al, 2015). The necessary skills, knowledge beliefs and the experiences of the teachers should
be taken into consideration while preparing the teachers for the enactment of such an
integrated mode of instruction.
In Saudi Arabia, the subjects of mathematics and science are compulsorily taught in
the schools up to the tenth standards. The stream of science braches out to its subdivisions of
physics, geology, biology and chemistry from the twelfth standard onwards (Moe.gov.sa,
2014). This leads to the limitations in the number of opportunities for the students to
communicate between the different disciplines altogether. The efforts to increase the number
of the female enrolments in the science related disciplines have been raised (Oecd.org, 2012).
The teachers are trained to teach science subjects as a silo discipline in an educational system
that is centralized. Mansour et al (2014) argues that the teachers follow the recommendations
that have been mandated by the MoE while implementing the curricula of science via the top-
down system.
Research Questions
It is a very common practice in the Arabian nations that the subjects like mathematics
and science. There may be different aspects that may need to be looked into while
introducing the STEM model of education in the schools. The teachers may require shifting
from their comfort zones of imparting education in the silos and rather adapt to the STEM

6STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
method of teaching. The teachers require having a deep knowledge of the content as well as
believe strongly in the innovative strategies of teaching. The teachers should also have
knowledge on how to bridge the subjects thereby aiding the growth of an interdisciplinary
learning process. Strong teams of teachers must be developed in order to help facilitate the
creation of a success culture in the schools through the professional communities. Reports
claim that there are limited number of teachers who possess a hands-on experience of
working with the STEM model of education. The teachers may also be mentioned to lack the
required educational background that is needed to teach the subjects that are included in the
pedagogy of STEM. According to a report by the National Science Foundation, 30% of the
teachers in the science departments of the middle schools lacked in-field training (Casey,
2012).
The study attempts to discuss the role of the educational leadership to aid the rise of
the performance of the teachers with the help of training on the use of the STEM program in
Saudi Arabia. The research questions in this study may focus on the topics enlisted below.
 What are the views of the teacher on the STEM model of education?
 What are the contextual factors that help the teachers to enact the integrated
pedagogies of STEM?
 What are the contextual factors that prove to be a hindrance for the teachers of
the science department in the enactment of the pedagogies that have been
integrated in the STEM model of teaching?
METHODOLOGY/DATACOLLECTION/TECHNIQUES
Study population, sample size and unit of analysis
The participants of this study will include middle school teachers of the science
stream of the local educational institutions that are located in the capital city of Saudi Arabia,

7STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
Riyadh. The chosen institutions will need to be a part of the partnership program that will be
sponsored by the same educational center that will be aiding this study. The teachers involved
in this study will need to sign a consent form in order to participate in this study. A minimum
of 50 teachers will participate in the study.
Research Methods: Survey Questionnaire
The questions will be set based on the contextual factors that serve to either facilitate
the implementation of the practices involved in the STEM model of education or pose to be a
hindrance to the same. The teachers will be provided with an open-ended questionnaire that
needs to be analyzed in a qualitative manner. The other group of interviewees would include
the students. The students would be provided with a close-ended questionnaire that may be
analyzed in a quantitative manner.
Data Analysis and Interpretational Methods
The research study will be conducted through the focus groups of study. These study
groups will focus on the various matters that are relevant to the views and the understandings
of the teachers on the STEM model of education. The groups of the teachers will be formed
based on their teaching experiences. The responses that were collected from the focus group
studies will be analyzed qualitatively. The qualitative analysis of the collected data may help
to reveal the contextual factors in discussion in a clearer manner.
Limitations
The limitations that may be incurred in the completion of this study would pertain to
the conditions of budget and the amount of time that may be allocated for the research. The
sample size of the research being too low may result in the lesser variety in the data that has
been collected for the research purpose. The budget that may be needed for a complete
research on the subject exceeds the budget that is assigned thereby leading to the lowering of

8STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
the collection of the data. The time allocated for this study may prove to be excessively less
in comparison to the actual time that may be needed.
Privacy
The privacy of the participants of this survey need to be maintained. The personal
details of the participants such as the names, age, institution of profession, educational
background and other such details will not be disclosed under any circumstances. The
participants will be addressed with the help of assigned pseudonyms if need arises. The focus
groups that will be formed would be addressed by the numbers that were assigned to them.
The data provided by the participants will not be used to identify them in future.
The Original contribution
The research study will make an attempt to look into the role that is played by the
educators in the implementation of the STEM model of education in the educational
institutions based in the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The study attempts to look into
the training of the teachers who are employed in the teaching of the subjects that are included
in the STEM model of education.
Research Schedule
Activities January Februar
y March April May June
Chapter 1:
Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature
Review
Chapter 3:
Methodology

9STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
Chapter 4: Data
Analysis and
Findings
Chapter 5:
Conclusion

10STEM PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA
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