Investigation of Preservice Science Teachers’ STEM Awareness and STEM Views

This study aims to examine the STEM awareness and perspectives of science teacher candidates, employing a convergent parallel design, which is a mixed research method combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The participants of the research consist of 65 science teacher candidates studying in the third year of a state university. The data regarding the participants' STEM awareness were obtained through a scale, while the data regarding their STEM perspectives were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, whereas content analysis was employed for the qualitative data analysis. The findings of the study indicate that the participants generally scored high on the scale measuring their STEM awareness, with the lowest score obtained in the sub-factor of the scale related to the impact of STEM on teaching. The participants' STEM perspectives were interpreted under five themes, namely STEM definition, the importance of STEM, the advantages and disadvantages of STEM for students, the advantages and disadvantages of STEM for teachers, and their inclination towards using STEM. Based on the study findings, it was concluded that science teacher candidates are capable of accurately defining STEM, they are aware of the importance of STEM and its contributions to both teachers and students, and they have a tendency to incorporate STEM in their lessons. The relevant findings were discussed within the scope of the literature, and recommendations were provided.