ESD & STEM

Education for sustainable development (ESD) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are topics that are central to the societal debate. Both are disciplines that are closely related to the 21st century skills. At Edubron there is a tradition of research on cognitive, affective and behavioral factors in both topics. Attention goes to the impact of educational initiatives on attitudes, motivation, actions and self-efficacy of learners and their educators. 

Furthermore, we focus on process factors that improve the success of such initiatives, both in the school context and in the broader context outside the school. The group is also actively involved in the development and validation of measuring instruments relating to ESD and STEM. Likewise, our in-house expertise also extends to cross- and intercultural aspects.

The researchers in this special interest group are currently working on various projects (i.e., VALIES, iSTEM, TIMSS and CHAMELEON)

Members

• ​Seppe Hermans: STEM –  Assessment and evaluation – Educational effectiveness – Computational thinking – Technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
  
• ​Antje Kenis: Differentiation – STEM in primary education  –  Large-scale assessment Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
• ​Oriel Marshall: Astrophysics – Translation of scientific concepts and dilemmas into teaching materials – STEM
• ​Wanda Sass: Education for sustainable development (ESD) – Action competence in sustainable development (ACiSD) – Motivation towards the environment – Teacher professional competence in ESD – ESD learning outcomes
• ​Pieter Steyaert: Arts – Transdisciplinary education – STEAM (STEM + ARTS) – Translation of scientific concepts and dilemmas into teaching materials
  
• ​Peter Van Petegem: Nature and environmental education - STEM - Education for sustainable development - Assessment and evaluation - Educational effectiveness
• ​Dries Verhelst: Education for sustainable development (ESD) –  Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) – Assessment and evaluation

Spearhead(s)

• Seppe Hermans