Defining Standards in STE²AM (Entrepreneurship) Education

The multinational project titled “Defining Standards in STE²AM (Entrepreneurship) Education” aims to integrate the entrepreneurial dimension into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education.

Basic information

Research information

Teacher information

Description

The project titled "Defining Standards in STE²AM (Entrepreneurship) Education" is a strategic partnership initiative funded under the Erasmus+ KA220-HED programme and coordinated by Gaziantep University. Its central aim is to integrate entrepreneurship education into the interdisciplinary fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), thereby developing internationally valid standards for STE²AM teacher training. Bringing together partner institutions from six countries—including universities, research centers, and educational organizations—the project collaboratively designs, implements, and disseminates innovative approaches to teacher education.

With a focus on equipping teachers with 21st-century competencies such as creative thinking, problem-solving, digital literacy, and an entrepreneurial mindset, the project has generated several key intellectual outputs. These include a comprehensive e-book featuring modules on AI, IoT, augmented reality, robotics, design thinking, and entrepreneurship in STEAM; a 40+ hour international teacher training program implemented in each partner country; the development and pilot application of a STEAM+E scale to assess pedagogical and entrepreneurial competencies; and a shared online documentation platform via Google Workspace to facilitate seamless collaboration. Dissemination activities through international conferences, academic publications, and media outreach have further enhanced the visibility and impact of the project.

Transnational meetings in Portugal, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain enabled continuous monitoring and alignment with project objectives. Despite the disruption caused by the February 2023 earthquake in Türkiye, the project showed strong resilience by relocating its kick-off meeting to Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul. In conclusion, the STE²AM project presents a forward-looking framework that redefines teacher professional development through the integration of entrepreneurship within STEAM disciplines and offers a scalable, internationally applicable model for educational transformation.

Basic information

Coordinator

Gaziantep University, https://www.gaziantep.edu.tr

Partners

Programme

Erasmus+ (programme-erasmus-plus)

Project Acronym

Target groups

education authorities, policy makers, researchers, teachers, trainee teachers, university students

Topic

Engineering, Maths, Technology, Education

Start year

2022

End year

2025

Url

https://www.ste2am.com/

Contact person

Mehmet Başaran, mehmetbasaran@gaziantep.edu.tr

The STE²AM (Entrepreneurship) Education project integrates a robust research framework aimed at establishing empirically grounded standards for entrepreneurship-oriented STEAM education. At the foundation of the project lies a comprehensive needs analysis conducted across six partner countries to identify gaps in current pedagogical practices and assess teacher readiness for integrating entrepreneurial competencies into STEAM disciplines. In response to these findings, each country implemented a 40-hour teacher training program, which served both as a professional development initiative and a structured data collection process. Teachers participating in the training were exposed to interdisciplinary modules on artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning, and design thinking, and were tasked with producing lesson plans and classroom-based applications. Central to the project’s research output is the development and validation of the STEAM+E Scale, designed to measure teacher competencies in innovation, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship. Led by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the psychometric validation process included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted on cross-national data, ensuring the tool’s reliability and construct validity. Findings were disseminated through multiple international conferences and peer-reviewed publications, with topics ranging from inquiry-based STEM education to the integration of entrepreneurship through engineering design and digital tools. Additionally, all data and reports were archived on a shared Google Workspace platform to support transparent and collaborative research. Overall, the project makes a significant contribution to educational sciences by offering a validated measurement instrument, replicable training models, and scalable approaches for embedding entrepreneurial thinking within STEAM education.

Defining Standards in STE²AM (Entrepreneurship) Education

Description

Basic information

Papers

Teaching materials