Identifying the roles of technology: a systematic review of STEM education in primary and secondary schools from 2015 to 2023

BackgroundWith the rapid advancement of technology, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has undergone significant transformations through the integration of various technologies. Studies are needed to provide a birds-eye view of the technology-oriented STEM education for identifying current status, development trends, and future directions.PurposeThis review aims to explore the characteristics of technology-oriented STEM education in primary and secondary schools, focusing on its status, regional contributions, subject domains, integration levels, outcomes, types of technologies, and research methods.MethodsTo conduct this review study, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method was utilized, leading to the identification of 127 empirical studies from databases and selected journals.Results and conclusionThe results, based on a combination of research methods, revealed a notable increase in empirical studies on technology-oriented STEM education. Among the STEM subjects, more than half of the studies emphasized the integration of a single STEM subject, with interdisciplinary integration being dominant. Engineering was observed to be the least integrated subject among the four STEM areas. Learning objectives in the studies emphasized 21st-century skills and STEM skills, while affective research mainly focused on interests, attitudes, and engagement. Student-centered learning, such as inquiry-based learning and game-based learning, along with engineering design, emerged as the most commonly adopted pedagogical approaches. In the realm of technology tools, computational tools were found to be widely embraced in technology-oriented STEM education. Notably, the majority of studies targeted students in upper primary and junior secondary schools, employing mixed research methods. These findings hold significant implications for the design and implementation of technology-oriented STEM education at primary and secondary school levels.