A Premature Step? Searching for Consensus on the Integration of STEM in ECE Settings in the Republic of Ireland

Now a mainstay in educational policy, the term ‘STEM’ [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] is often used, but frequently misunderstood. First appearing in the 1990s it has been common in economic and educational discourse ever since. Those working directly with children are at a loss to operationalise STEM education several decades after the term was first introduced. This is due, in part, to the fact that STEM is still considered an emerging field of inquiry and consequently, pedagogical approaches and conceptual models remain undertheorized. In parallel, EC pedagogy and curriculum are insufficiently conceptualised, posing practice and policy dilemmas of their own. In the Republic of Ireland, STEM is becoming more prominent in early education policy, appearing in inspection criteria, curricula, and limited professional development provision. What is absent from the same policy is a clear conceptualisation of EC STEM or a plan for its implementation in this context. This study explores expert opinion about how EC STEM should be defined and understood, and the skills knowledge and dispositions early educators require to successfully support EC STEM in ROI. Findings indicate that understandings of EC STEM are still emerging, and little consensus is found even among EC STEM experts making the inclusion of STEM in policy a premature step.