Formation of a comprehensive system of STEM education in contemporary Russia: Infrastructure aspect
Abstract. In this paper, the author raises an important issue for the contemporary Russian education - the issue of forming the infrastructure of STEM education. Today, the functioning of the STEM education system is a prerequisite for the implementation of breakthrough discoveries in science and technology, the implementation of competitive innovative activities and, as a result, the achievement of scientific and technological progress. In fact, STEM education is a modern integrated approach to the study of natural science, engineering, technical and mathematical cycles of disciplines based on the principles of interconnectedness and complementarity. During the study, a review was conducted of modern educational organizations and their opportunities to participate in a unified STEM education system. When considering the STEM education system, the author proceeded from the concept of gradual education, as well as from the basic principles and trends of the contemporary Russian education. The main purpose of this study is to identify the key infrastructural elements of STEM education in Russia at the current development stage, as well as to determine their interrelationships with each other. The basis of the STEM education system is the integration of the "classical stages" of education with additional education organizations, innovation and technology centers, centers of innovative development and creativity. These provisions determine the scientific novelty of the research, which consists in the systematization of elements and relations in the modern concept of STEM education. The conducted research will allow to form continuity, as well as to organize interaction in the system of educational and scientific-practical organizations involved in the process of training specialists, which, in turn, will improve the quality of training specialists and accelerate the pace of achieving technological sovereignty of the Russian Federation.
Keywords: STEM education, interdisciplinarity, innovation, scientific and technological progress, educational infrastructure, science city, technical sciences, natural sciences.
Hightlightts:
- the analysis of educational needs in Russia, as well as the requirements for the qualification of personnel, confirmed the need to form a unified system of STEM education;
- based on domestic and foreign experience, the principles of formation and functioning of the STEM education system are formulated;
- an infrastructural model of the STEM education system has been developed, providing opportunities for technological development of the country;
- the role and importance of each element of the STEM education system are defined.
Artem G. Geokchakyan - State University of Management, Moscow, Russia