Education in the 21st Century

This book explores a range of issues central to STEM and 21st Century education. It explores research into the relationships between creativity, critical thinking and STEM Education from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It examines matters associated with three main concerns: First is the ways some research and development that is labelled “STEM” appears to be essentially one of the specific individual components, S, T, E or M, with a new label rather than something going across and/or beyond these more traditional components. The second, at times intertwining, concern is the common ways in which school curriculum continues to hold separate disciplines as its core. The third concern is that while cross-curriculum goals are increasingly common in this century - particularly for “creativity” and “critical thinking” - it is also common that the goals remain only vaguely linked with the more usual components of the whole curriculum. This book reflects on all three of these important concerns and the integrated whole that can result from them.

Monash University, King’s College London and Waikato University have now generated six edited books on successive related research issues of significance to contemporary science education. Each of these books has been substantially shaped by a writing workshop involving all authors in intensive discussion about drafts of their contributions (a process of great worth in its own right, as well as for enhancing the value of the final volume), and then each author reworking the contribution in the light of the discussions The seventh will extend beyond science education and explore a range of issues central to STEM and 21st Century education.