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Project

Science Education forms the basis for the full achievement of the Innovation Union and the European Research Area. Europe needs a skilled population, competent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the so-called STEM subjects. Europe needs its best minds to meet global interconnected societal challenges

According to Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020), the strategic objective of the EU is to raise the levels of basic skills such as literacy and numeracy and to make mathematics, science and technology more attractive. Ensuring that the population has a good level of scientific literacy (understanding of science) is relevant not only because it is good for the economy, but also because it can benefit individuals and communities economically and socially, helping to promote active citizenship and enabling people to participate in, and shape, scientific and technological developments in society.

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Therefore, the SMART KIDS project is aimed at developing a complementary educational module for pupils between 10 and 14 years that will apply a learner-centered approach. This participative learning method will enable students to engage them toward science, and, above all to interiorise their competences of several scientific subjects, to develop thinking skills and to boost their creativity, inquiry, problem solving and other transversal skills.

This SMART KIDS educational module will be based on the concept of Smart City and its multidisciplinary perspective that favours the entrepreneurship and stimulates the development of scientific subjects such as TIC, physical, mathematics, engineering and architecture. Therefore, SMART KIDS will introduce students to the concepts of science, technology and engineering with a focus on urban planning and sustainability. It will include hands-on activities on energy, urban infrastructure, transportation systems and wireless communications topics.

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Smart Kids Project

According to the ASPIRES study (Archer, 2013), over 80% of young people surveyed agreed that ‘scientists are brainy’. This association influences many young people’s views of science careers as ‘not for me’. Students who do not consider themselves as being among the ‘brainiest’ in the class are unlikely to see science careers as achievable – even if they find science interesting and attain well in the subject. A student is least likely to see science as ‘for me’ if she is female. Therefore, gender issues are also evident from a young age. Girls are less likely than boys to aspire to science careers, even though a higher percentage of girls than boys rate science as their favourite subject.

In the light of above, the innovative formal and informal science education plays a key role to raise both young girls’ and boys’ awareness of the different aspects encompassing science and technology in today’s society and to enhance young people to pursue careers in STEM.

Children and young people enter the education systems with natural curiosity and creativity. However, the period between ages 10-14 is a critical time for the development of young people’s positive attitudes to science, as by age 14, most young people’s attitudes are fairly fixed (Turner, 2009). Efforts to broaden students’ aspirations, particularly in relation to STEM, have to begin early. Therefore, it is needed to develop creative and innovative science teaching and learning methods aimed at promoting science and technology as fun.

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