Majority of Hong Kong teachers not confident teaching STEM subjects, industry study reveals
Some 83 per cent of respondents to survey said they did not have enough support to teach science, technology, engineering and maths topics
Only 36 per cent of the city’s teachers are confident about teaching science, technology, engineering and maths – STEM subjects – while more than 80 per cent feel facilities are insufficient to do so, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Federation of Education Workers.
To tackle these issues, it called for the injection of HK$500 million into primary and secondary schools each year and to give teachers at least half a year of paid leave for further education.
The union polled 426 schools, where a teacher in charge of STEM filled in the responses.
STEM education develops children’s skill sets to make them ‘future-proof’ in employment market
A total of 83 per cent of the respondents said they did not have enough STEM training and support, 82 per cent felt there was inadequate infrastructure for teaching the field, and 71 per cent lamented the lack of support for teaching materials.
Union committee member Ng Wun-kit said it was worrying that only 36 per cent were confident about teaching STEM.
A positive takeaway is teachers are willing to devote time for STEM education
“But a positive takeaway is teachers are willing to devote time for STEM education with some even going for training after work,” he said.
An overwhelming 99 per cent of teachers said they would learn more related knowledge while 90 per cent were willing to spend more time teaching STEM topics.