From STEM to BEST: Two Standards, One Goal

Abstract

The development of educational technologies in the 21st century allowed saturation with technological resources that dynamizes and digitizes the learning process. This new trend was logically supported with appropriate hardware and software. In the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was digital communication channels and virtual learning environments that ensured the continuity of the national education system. In higher education, the decades-old academic distance learning centres have provided the learning process for full time and part-time students and proven their effectiveness. In parallel with the f inancial provision in school education for the construction of STEM classrooms, a professional standard for an environment, nurturing development was achieved . Both teachers and students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics became the main beneficiaries. In contrast, in the system of higher education, delays and lagging are found, as often graduates coming from STEM classrooms end up in university classrooms which are decades behind in technological advancement. This paper therefore advocates the introduction of the tentatively named BEST standard, based on Business, Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology, in higher education as a logical build-up to the good STEM outcomes established in school settings.