Analysis of Engineering Elements of K-12 Science Standards in Seven Countries Engaged in Stem Education Reform

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the K-12 science standards of seven countries that have improved their engineering practices noticeably by integrating engineering and its elements into their science documents, namely, Australia, England, Estonia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States. For this purpose, K-12 science standard documents were examined vis-a-vis their inclusion and distribution of engineering and its elements across grade bands. Standards were analyzed through content analysis by employing the Framework for Quality K-12 Engineering Education. The results showed that the United States and to some extent Turkish standard documents had placed a particular emphasis on engineering. The number of standards relating to engineering is the highest in the United States and the lowest in Estonia. These standards across grade bands were distributed evenly in the documents of England and the United States. Science standard documents in early grades included few such standards. In light of the results, we discussed the extent and comprehensiveness of engineering integrated into the K-12 science standard documents and provided implications for integrating engineering elements into science standard documents.