Research Article
Reconceptualizing STEM-S Design Competence:
A Systematic Literature Review
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 5, October 2026
Pages:
194-205
Received:
2 June 2026
Accepted:
26 August 2026
Published:
4 September 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijecs.20261105.11
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Views:
Abstract: This study examines how STEM education integrating social issues (STEM-S) has been conceptualized in relation to teacher competence and instructional design. Although integrated STEM education has increasingly been connected with sustainability, socioscientific issues, citizen science, and socially relevant learning, the competence required for teachers to design STEM-S learning units remains insufficiently clarified in the literature. Guided by the PRISMA framework and complemented by snowball sampling, this systematic literature review analyzed 32 empirical, conceptual, policy-oriented, and theoretical sources published between 2005 and March 2026. The selected sources were examined through thematic synthesis to identify research trends, relevant competency frameworks, the role of social issues, design-related elements, and implications for teacher education. The findings indicate that STEM-S reflects a shift from interdisciplinary STEM integration and technical problem solving toward learning that connects STEM knowledge with social context, sustainability values, and responsible action. However, three structural gaps were identified. First, design competence is often treated as one component of broader STEM teacher competence rather than as a central construct in STEM-S teacher education. Second, social issues are frequently used as learning contexts or themes but are not fully embedded as structural components of competence. Third, the pedagogical mechanism through which real-world social issues, learner experience, interdisciplinary STEM knowledge, and sustainability values are transformed into curriculum-aligned learning units remains underdeveloped. Based on these findings, the study proposes that STEM-S design competence can be understood as an integrative professional competence connecting social context analysis, interdisciplinary STEM integration, pedagogical transformation, learning unit design, assessment, and reflection. This review provides a theoretical basis for further developing behavioral indicators, assessment tools, and teacher education activities aimed at preparing teachers to design socially responsive and sustainability-oriented STEM-S learning units.
Abstract: This study examines how STEM education integrating social issues (STEM-S) has been conceptualized in relation to teacher competence and instructional design. Although integrated STEM education has increasingly been connected with sustainability, socioscientific issues, citizen science, and socially relevant learning, the competence required for tea...
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,
Do Huong Tra
