This study aimed to determine the views of thirty preservice preschool teachers recruited using convenience sampling on STEM education and engineering. Phenomenology was the design of choice. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using inductive content analysis. Participants offered different definitions of STEM…

Purpose: In this study a survey with a questionnaire was used to track the learning situation and core competencies of students in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Science and Technology. A determination of areas that need to be strengthened is used as a reference in the cultivation of core competency in higher…

Global developments ask for 21st-century skills. Creativity is one of those and can be defined as the production of novel ideas by connecting entities that have not been connected before and whose connection is useful in a certain domain. The growth of rhizomes is an example where unconnected entities become connected in an unpredictable way, and…

This dissertation investigates the issue of gender stratification within engineering and other STEM-related fields. The dissertation is divided into three articles that address different aspects of the problem and propose potential solutions. Article 1 explores the persistent gender imbalance within STEM fields, particularly in engineering and…

Background: This paper describes research into two pedagogical approaches to foster transdisciplinarity in a graduate engineering course that involves education and computer science. Leveraging the Communities of Practice framework, we examine how students majoring in computer science can integrate new knowledge from education and computer science…

This study examined the effects of an Arduino microrobot activity on college students' interest in robotics through three specific objectives: (1) determining how students' conceptual understanding regarding the basics of microcomputing and computer programming changes after engaging in an engineering robotics learning module, (2) assessing the…

This paper explores the benefits and barriers of open platforms in promoting university teaching and learning in Tanzania. Despite the potentials open platforms have in supporting teaching and learning processes in higher learning institutions, there is a continuing debate on their benefits and barriers. This study, therefore, examined staff and…

This paper describes an interdisciplinary effort involving faculty from five different disciplines who came together to develop an interdisciplinary, open, general education cybersecurity course. The course, Cybersecurity, Technology, and Society, brings together ideas from interdisciplinary studies, information technology, engineering, business,…

Contribution: The current study finds that female-identified students report stronger associations between "helping others" and interest in bioengineering/biomedical engineering than non-females, while they report less interest in electrical and computer engineering overall, with similar associations to factors such as…

The vision of Smart Connected Community (SCC) is to integrate technology to improve economy, safety, education, health and provide equity in the society. Human factor plays a vital role in the SCC in human societal, psychological, physical factors in the technology uses from various aspects. In this research, first, we have studied the impact of…

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary that includes a combination of mechanics, electronics, control systems, and computer science. The main objective of mechatronics learning is to establish a comprehensive mindset in the development of mechatronic systems. Project Based Learning (PBL) is an appropriate method for use in the learning process of…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 22nd International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2025), held in Porto, Portugal, from 1 to 3 November 2025 and organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS). [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

The overall aim of this two-year study is to understand effective practice and lessons learned from approaches to curriculum design and employer engagement by University Technical Colleges (UTCs). Researchers used a case-study methodology supplemented with management information and a survey of UTC students' views. Key findings include: (1)…

Drawing on Eccles' expectancy-value model of achievement-related choices, we examined the personal aptitudes and motivational beliefs at 12th grade that move individuals toward or away from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations at age 29. In the first set of analyses, occupational and lifestyle values, math ability…

Within existing ICT degrees there is a widely-held belief that content must be tailored for different "kinds" of students--often two differing student groups: a technical group requiring detailed Computer Science knowledge and a separate group requiring less technical, more strategic ICT knowledge and skills. Our institution has produced…