Attitudes toward engineering: investigating pre-service teachers’ perceptions of engineering in STEM education

There is limited understanding of engineering within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, particularly among pre-service teachers, despite its critical role in innovation and future workforce capabilities. The research is guided by the research question: ‘What are pre-service teachers’ perceptions of, and attitudes toward, engineering within STEM education?’ with the goal of enhancing understanding of engineering within STEM education. Engineering is often the least understood STEM component in primary schools, despite its significance. Following the method of Nadelson et al. (2013) data were collected from pre-service teachers to evaluate their confidence and perceptions of engineering using adapted versions of the Teaching Confidence Scale (Woolfolk Hoy 2000), the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI, Riggs and Enochs 1990), and the Pittsburgh Freshman Engineering Attitudes Survey (PFEAS, Besterfield-Sacre, Atman, and Shuman1998). Participants were Australian and international primary/elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in initial teacher education programs (N = 65). Results indicated generally positive attitudes, though detailed knowledge was lacking, particularly about engineering. The study found that addressing problem-solving and creativity in teacher education could improve understanding. Furthermore, significant correlations between perceptions of engineering and self-efficacy in teaching STEM suggest that increasing engineering visibility could benefit STEM education overall. The findings underscore the need for targeted teacher development programs to integrate engineering effectively into curricula, ensuring educators are equipped to teach all STEM elements and prepare students for future technological challenges.