Embedding the Sustainable Development Goals into International Students’ Professional Practice (Part 1)
The SIoE’s Catriona Robb, John Cochrane and John Winter reflect on the STEM Leader 7 Programme
This is a two-part reflective piece on how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were embedded into a Professional Practice (PP) teacher education module for Omani students. Part 1 begins by introducing the background of the STEM initiative, then describes the student cohort, and concludes with an explanation of the STEM Leader 7 programme. Part 2 then reflects on the impact of this programme in the PP module.
Background
It has been argued for decades that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields are important because they drive innovation, solve global challenges, and are vital to the economy. Today, they are increasingly seen to be “fundamental drivers of national development, economic productivity and societal wellbeing” (Tytler, 2020, p. 21). This prominence is reflected in national government policy imperatives around the world. In Scotland, for example, in 2017, the Scottish Government published the STEM Education and Training Strategy (Scottish Government, 2022) to try to encourage more young people to choose STEM subjects and continue to study them beyond school.
For Scotland’s policy makers, the increased focus on science and maths education has derived from the belief that scientific learning is the driver of increased economic output. According to Paterson (2022), this has been a long-standing belief, dating back to the late 19th century. Yet, relentless skills shortages are one of the many obstacles to achieving this goal. Despite initiatives to increase the uptake of science subjects in schools, they have not produced the number of students studying STEM subjects at university that is needed (Smith & White, 2024). This, in turn, has had implications for the supply of individuals qualified to enter highly skilled, graduate-level STEM occupations, as also noted by Smith and White (2024). While these findings were based on data from England and Wales, the data offers insights that are likely to be applicable to Scotland. This issue is further exacerbated by the effects of the long-anticipated demographic time-bomb starting to be felt; with an ageing population and falling birth rate in Scotland, high numbers of skilled STEM professionals are approaching retirement, with a lack of backfill to sustain capacity.
‘Green jobs’ are defined by the UN’s International Labour Organisation as ones which “contribute to preserve or restore the environment” (International Labour Organisation, 2016, para. 1). There are concerns about a lack of diversity in these roles; in response to what they describe as a “massive gender and ethnic minority imbalance” McGeoch et al. (2023, p. 35) call for further efforts in STEM education in primary and secondary schools. From this, it is apparent that there is a need to inspire children and young people, offering them exciting STEM experiences from the early years to secondary education, so everyone can see that working in the STEM disciplines is both a possibility and that it can be a rewarding career. It is to these challenges that staff and students in the Strathclyde Institute of Education turned, through the STEM Leader 7 Programme.
The student cohort
The 14 students were from a range of BSc (Hons) courses from the Science Faculty in the University. This cohort all came from Oman and join the Institute of Education for their fourth year. In this fourth year of study, the students become part of the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) course, although they have their own bespoke Professional Practice modules. In those, the practical aspects involve placement experiences in schools. This year, a new programme for placement experience, the SCQF Level 7 Award in STEM Leadership, was introduced. John Cochrane, the PGDE Chemistry co-ordinator and STEM Leader Associate Regional Trainer and Verifier, led the delivery of this programme. Catriona Robb undertook the STEM Leader tutor assessor training to assess the students’ evidence and ensure quality assurance standards were met. The students completed the training to become STEM Leaders then took their professional learning into two secondary schools through the STEM Leader 7 programme.
The STEM Leader 7 programme
The STEM Leader 7 programme is the highest level of Scotland's Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP). The programme is led by SSERC and developed in partnership with Ocean Winds. SSERC’s recently amended mission is to “inspire, enthuse and support STEM educators for the benefit of all learners” (Mission, vision and values, 2024, para. 2). The website offers definitions for all the terms used in this quote. Moreover, all 32 local authorities in Scotland are members of the company and can benefit from SSERC’s vision that it “is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence for STEM learning and support” (Mission, vision and values, 2024, para. 5).
The implementation of this programme represented an innovative and pedagogically sound approach to providing a placement experience for the Omani students. It facilitated the development of leadership competencies, incorporated personalisation and choice with their projects, enhanced their understanding of the SDGs, and offered practical teaching experience with secondary school pupils in Scottish educational settings.
Ultimately, the programme achieved its objectives: it addressed the initial aim of providing a meaningful placement experience but also fostered professional growth and global citizenship among the students. The programme enhanced the student experience, developed leadership skills, and enhanced awareness of global challenges within a real-world educational context. Part 2 of this reflective piece presents an evaluation of the impact of the programme.
References
International Labour Organisation. (2016, April 13). What is a green job? https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/what-green-job
McGeoch, A., Spowage, M., & Milne, K. (2023). International Scotland: An update following Ministerial events & engagement. https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/87659/1/McGeoch-etal-FAI-2023-International-Scotland-an-Update-Following-Ministerial.pdf
SSERC. (2024). Mission, vision and values. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.sserc.org.uk/about-us/mission-vision-and-values/
Paterson, L. (2022). Participation in science in secondary and higher education in Scotland in the second half of the twentieth century. Research Papers in Education, 37(6), 1189–1213.
Scottish Government. (2022). STEM education and training strategy – refresh: Annual report.
Smith, E., & White, P. (2024). Science for all? School science education policy and STEM skills shortages. British Journal of Educational Studies, 72(4), 397–424.
Tytler, R. (2020). STEM education for the 21st Century. In J. Anderson, & Y. Li (Eds.). Integrated approaches to STEM education: An international perspective, pp. 21–43. Springer Nature.
Published 17/06/2025
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