The shortage of graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), has led to numerous attempts to increase students' interest in STEM. One emerging approach that has the potential to improve students' motivation for STEM is integrated STEM education. Nonetheless, the implementation of this new instructional strategy is not straightforward due to the lack of consensus about instructional practices in integrated STEM. This paper contributes to this challenge by providing a well-defined framework for instructional practices in integrated STEM in secondary education, based on the results of a systematic review of existing literature. The framework contains five key principles: integration of STEM content, problem-centered learning, inquiry-based learning, design-based learning and cooperative learning. The proposed framework has several benefits, including its applicability in the classroom and the possibility to describe integrated STEM on multiple dimensions. Nonetheless, further research is necessary to investigate the effects of integrated STEM on students' cognitive and affective learning outcomes.

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Integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education is an emerging approach to improve students' achievement and interest in STEM disciplines. However, the implementation of integrated STEM education depends strongly on teachers' competence, which entails, among others, teachers' attitudes. Nonetheless, not much is known about the factors that influence teachers' attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Therefore this paper uses a survey method to get insight into the relationship between three groups of variables and teachers' attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM: teacher background characteristics, personal attitudes and school context variables. The results of the multiple regression analyses reveal three variables that are positively linked with teachers' attitudes: professional development, personal relevance of science and social context. Moreover two variables show a negative correlation: having more than 20 years of teaching experience and experience in mathematics. The results of this study provide valuable information about factors related to teachers' attitudes toward teaching integrated STEM. Moreover, these results can be deployed by school administrators to guide them when composing a team of teachers to implement integrated STEM education.

A promising approach to increase students' motivation for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is integrated STEM education (iSTEM). This is an instructional approach that emphasizes the deeper connections between the STEM disciplines by involving students in design challenges centered around realworld problems. However, the successful implementation of a new instructional approach, such as iSTEM, strongly depends on teachers' attitudes toward the innovation. Therefore, a deeper understanding of teachers' attitudes toward teaching iSTEM is necessary. This study uses a survey method to investigate the influence of teachers' background characteristics and school context variables on teachers' attitudes toward teaching iSTEM. To do so, a differential approach is used. Attitudes toward five key principles for iSTEM (integration, problem-centered, inquiry-based, design-based, and cooperative learning) are examined separately to get a more in-depth and nuanced insight into the factors influencing these attitudes. Results of the multiple regression analyses show that participation in professional development is positively linked to teachers' attitudes toward all key principles, whereas several other teacher and school context variables are positively correlated with attitudes toward one or two principles. Moreover, experience in mathematics and total years of teaching show a negative correlation with several aspects of teachers' attitudes toward teaching iSTEM. Findings

We are increasingly exposed to complex societal and technological problems. Qualified Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professionals are needed to solve these problems and cope with contemporary demands such as sustainable energy and efficient healthcare [1]. It is not surprising then that the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report (2016) predicted a job gain in STEM fields for the following years [2]. However, we do not only need STEM professionals who can solve these problems. We also need people with a certain level of basic STEM literacy. All citizens, even non-STEM professionals, should have the skills and competences necessary to deal with the challenges of our information-based and highly technological society [3]. STEM-literacy, i.e., the awareness of the nature of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the familiarity with fundamental concepts from each discipline, should be an educational priority for all students [3], [4].