Towards developing Malaysia STEM teacher standard: Early framework

Abstract

The quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is the main determinant for achieving high quality STEM education. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of STEM education and ensure its objectives are achieved, the quality of STEM teacher should be improved. This research aims to propose an early framework of STEM Teacher Standard which could potentially serve as a guideline for STEM teachers to evaluate their competency. Delphi method (3 rounds) which involved expert panels (n=20); consisting of STEM teacher educators (n=10) and STEM school teachers (n=10) were employed. The findings show two key dimensions essential in producing quality STEM teacher namely 'Teaching and Learning Skill' and 'Knowledge and Understanding' dimension. Interestingly, findings indicate that Teacher Professionalism dimension is the least important in producing quality STEM teacher despite being greatly emphasised by other researchers. It is argued that the exam-oriented structure of the Malaysia national education system puts an increasing demand on STEM teachers to practice effective teaching approaches to transmit the knowledge to the students. The Early Framework of the Malaysia STEM Teacher Standard could assist STEM teachers to evaluate their competencies and serve as a guide for STEM teacher educators at higher education institutions to develop a responsive and comprehensive teacher training curriculum in producing quality STEM teachers.