CURRICULUM POTENTIALS FOR THE STEM/STEAM APPROACH IN THE FIRST CYCLE OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN SERBIA

Serbia is in the early stages of introducing STE(A)M into the educational system. Although the STE(A)M approach is not clearly emphasized in strategic educational documents, some primary education goals that are complementary to this approach. The Erasmus Plus project STE(A)M in Primary School: Mission Possible (2023-2025) is underway in Serbia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. This paper presents some of the results of this project that focuses on a content analysis carried out on the teaching and learning program for four subjects within the first cycle of primary education: The World Around Us/Nature and Society (Science), Mathematics (Mathematics), Digital World (Technology and Engineering) and Visual Arts (Arts). The project STE(A)M in Primary School: Mission Possible aims at targeting the educational standards, learning outcomes, and topics that allow for two or more subjects to be co-integrated and developing brief scenarios for teaching activities. The analysis shows that the knowledge and skills needed in everyday situations (not just in a school context) have the greatest STE(A)M potential based on the defined standards/learning outcomes/topics. Such themes include: Materials (Science), Measurements (Mathematics), Safe Use of Digital Devices, Algorithmic Way of Thinking (Digital World), and Communication (Visual Arts). These potentials are more noticeable in the first and second grades, while they are somewhat less conspicuous in the third and fourth grades. The time mismatch of complementary topics is one of the greater issues in using the STE(A)M approach since it disturbs the effective planning and implementation of STE(A)M activities. Thus, additional efforts are needed to harmonize the teaching and learning programs of STE(A)M subjects, i.e. their learning outcomes, topics, and time compliance, and to provide clearer teaching instructions.