The Role of STEM Education in Teaching and Learning in South Africa’s Underprivileged Societies

Abstract

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in some quarters of African society is wrongly perceived because the importance of this contemporary educational approach to knowledge is not properly taught, understood, and harnessed among teachers and learners. The fact that STEM education is a recent educational development and a subject of interest, especially within African educational institutions, suggests that its benefits in teaching and learning are not well-maximized and enjoyed by teachers and students. Using particular pieces of literature and the outcomes of a case study of several discussions with some students and teachers in Cosmo City, this researcher highlights that some underprivileged people’s perceptions regarding the current status and the importance of STEM education were misunderstood. The researcher used the concept of “travel” as a topic to explore how STEM education can be taught and understood among students. Other objectives of this research are to encourage government educational agencies and other organizations concerned with educational development to know and assist underprivileged schools in effectively providing STEM education. The study was achieved by expounding on some of the problems underprivileged schools in South Africa face concerning STEM education. The result obtained from this research indicates that the poor or inadequate utilization of STEM education is responsible for its wrong perception in underprivileged communities in most African societies. The researcher concludes that adequate STEM education that includes the provision of necessary study materials and trained teachers will result in the best maximization of this form of knowledge among all sundry, irrespective of an individual’s socio-economic background.