Engineering: from technology to innovation and systems thinking

Engineering' is based on three main principles: it puts a strong emphasis on engineering design; it includes the integrated development of mathematics, science and technical knowledge; and it promotes higher thinking skills.

Developing didactics related to engineering is very much in line with the EU2020 strategy and the STEM action plan 2012-2020 of the Flemish Government. This led to the following research question: What learning environment is needed to implement engineering in primary and first-level secondary education?

In this study, according to the principles of Educational Design Research, an answer to the above research question was sought together with teachers and other stakeholders involved. Specifically, an exploratory case study was set up with teachers, children and pupils from the three educational levels (nursery, primary and secondary).

Interim results were presented and adjusted together with teacher educators, teachers and other stakeholders. The results and findings of the literature review and the exploratory cases were incorporated into a website with good practices. Moreover, the experiences from the study were applied in in-service training and workshops, mainly aimed at pedagogical supervisors, teacher educators and educational researchers in order to achieve widespread dissemination.

For secondary education, a vision text and tools were developed during a valorisation project and are available online.