Table 3 Detailed analysis of thematic focus across the STEM studies
From: A systematic review of STEM education research in the GCC countries: trends, gaps and barriers
Authors | Thematic Focus | Scope | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
Aldahmash et al., (2019) | School-level factors | Teachers’ perceptions about integrated STEM pedagogies | Studies primary school science and mathematics teachers’ views and attitudes toward integrating STEM in their teaching practices after participating in a professional development program in the KSA |
El-Deghaidy et al., (2017) | School-level factors | Examines primary school science teachers’ point of views on STEM education and its core interdisciplinary nature, as well as possible external and internal factors affecting STEM practices in the KSA | |
Elayyan and Al-Shizawi, (2019) | School-level factors | Investigates science teachers’ perceptions about the integration of STEM pedagogies in their teaching, and competencies related to educational and economic issues in Oman | |
Madani and Forawi, (2019) | School-level factors | Addresses secondary school science and mathematics teachers’ perception about implementation of newly formed STEM curricula, and the impact of teachers’ gender, educational qualification, nationality, and teaching experience on their STEM perceptions in the KSA | |
Awwad and Ayesh, (2013) | School-level factors | STEM curriculum and pedagogy | Explores the effectiveness of laptop usage in enhancing undergraduate students learning at STEM disciplines, and the impact of private and public universities on the laptop usage for academic and non-academic purposes in the UAE |
Madani, (2020) | School-level factors | Examines secondary school science and mathematics teachers’ pedagogical practices for delivering the newly adapted interdisciplinary STEM curricula in their classrooms in the KSA | |
Murphy et al., (2018) | School-level factors | Analyzes primary school mathematics and science teachers’ understanding of, use of, and aspirations for delivering inquiry-based pedagogies in their STEM teaching in Qatar | |
Alhashem & Agha, 2020 | School-level factors | STEM assessment | Examines chemistry, physics, and biology course assessments at the secondary school level in Kuwait, based on educational taxonomies and cognitive, psychomotor, and emotional areas |
Aswad et al., (2011) | Environmental factors + student-level factors | Impact of stereotypes and family | Explores the factors, such as stereotypes, role of family, and nationality, which influence female undergraduate students’ decisions and attitudes toward engaging in a STEM discipline in the UAE |
Forgasz et al., (2014) | Environmental factors | Impact of stereotypes | Addresses the impact of stereotypes on society’s view about STEM-related positions such as in mathematics, science and computing |
Pasha-Zaidi and Afari, (2016) | Environmental factors, student-level factors | Impact of gender disparity | Examines the impact of gender disparity on higher education students’ perceptions of their STEM professors in the Middle East |
Khan and Rodrigues, (2017) | Environmental factors | Family income | Investigates gender disparity issue in the low-income expatriate families living in the UAE, particularly exploring point of views on female STEM education and employment opportunities |
Wang et al., (2020) | Environmental factors, School-level factors | Cultural and societal beliefs | Analyzes existing papers at the Middle East region, including GCC countries, to examine cultural and national barriers to stem education, barriers against female stem education and employment, as well as educational barriers such as poor scholarship and teaching, poor working environment for educators |
Islam, (2017) | Environmental factors | Social perceptions and prejudices | Analyzes existing papers in the Arab region, including GCC countries, to examine how social perception and prejudice determine gender in STEM employment |
Islam, (2019) | Environmental factors | Analyzes existing papers in the Middle East region, including GCC countries, to examine how social perception and prejudice determine female issue related to higher education, STEM education, and career opportunities and research | |
Al-Sheeb et al., (2019) | Student-level factors | STEM attitudes | Investigates the correlation among students’ STEM performance and a number of cognitive variables such as high school grades as well as non-cognitive variables such as attitudes and skill-related behaviors, in Qatar |
Wiseman et al., (2016) | Student-level factors, school-level factors, | STEM achievement, nationality | Analyzes the existing papers on the relationship between citizenship status, STEM education, and expected labor market participation in GCC countries, taking into consideration student-level measures (e.g., TIMSS scores, nationality), and school-level measures (e.g., software availability, school achievement) |
Badri et al., (2016) | Student-level factors | Interest in, attitude toward and perception about STEM | Examines secondary school students’ interest in, attitude toward and perception about STEM learning in different contexts, in the UAE |