State of emergency affects many areas of our life, including education. Due to school closure during COVID-19 pandemic as a case of a long-term emergency, education has been moved into a remote mode. In order to determine the factors driving the acceptance of distance learning technologies and ensuring sustainable education, a model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology has been proposed and empirically validated with data collected from 550 in-service primary school teachers in Lithuania. Structural equation modelling technique with multi-group analysis was utilized to analyse the data. The results show that performance expectancy, social influence, technology anxiety, effort expectancy, work engagement, and trust are factors that significantly affect teachers’ behavioural intention to use distance learning technologies. The relationships in the model are moderated by pandemic anxiety and age of teachers. The results of this study provide important implications for education institutions, policy makers and designers: the predictors of intention to use distance learning technologies observed during the emergency period may serve as factors that should be strengthened in teachers’ professional development, and the applicability of the findings is expanded beyond the pandemic isolation period.

Computational thinking (CT) as one of the 21st century skills enters early years education. This paper aims to study the worldwide tendencies of teaching CT through computing in primary education and primary school teachers? understanding of CT. A survey of 52 countries has been performed and complemented by a qualitative study of 15 countries. In order to identify teachers? understanding-level of CT and its integration approach in the class activities, a case study of 110 in-service teachers from 6 countries has been performed. The implications of the research results may be useful for primary school educators, educational initiatives, government authorities, policy makers, e-learning system and content developers dealing with support for teachers aiming to improve their CT professional development qualification.

Research and practice have shown that female students are less interested in engineering and programming. This is related to gender stereotypes and technological self-efficacy. Research has also pointed out that students in rural schools tend to do less well in STEM subjects and are less likely to pursue STEM studies than their peers from large cities. Previous studies have highlighted the benefits of hands-on real-world-related engineering projects by building connections with students’ interests and technology while giving them something exciting to focus on. This study is aimed at investigating whether and how students’ individual characteristics (such as attitudes toward engineering and technology, motivation, and technology anxiety) are associated with rural school students’ engagement, gender differences, and inclusion in sustainable ecological engineering activities with Arduino microcontrollers. Surveys were conducted before and after the activity with pupils of a rural lower secondary school (ages 13–15). The results show that, female students’ initial attitude toward engineering and technology was significantly less positive than that of male students. Despite being novices in physical computing, a whole group of pupils were intrinsically motivated while performing these activities. The findings of this study provide transferable insights into practical STEM education that may strengthen students’ engagement, motivation, and achievement in STEM. The implications of the results of this study can be useful for a better understanding of the individual factors of students that influence future engineering activity design and STEM career selection opportunities.

The demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills has been consistently increasing due to technological advancements and globalization, making STEM education and teacher training a critical priority. Although many national and international initiatives have been implemented to strengthen STEM education and raise the attractiveness of the teaching profession, a shortage of teachers in general, and STEM teachers in particular, is still evident across Europe. This study aimed to identify factors contributing to attracting existing and potential teachers to careers in STEM education. Qualitative research methods were employed to study teachers’ perceived motivation, challenges, and suggestions regarding STEM teachers’ careers, competence, and collaboration development. The study revealed that the practical application of competence development initiatives significantly motivates STEM teachers, emphasizing the importance of aligning professional development with classroom implementation. These results emphasize the importance of prioritizing practical, classroom-oriented professional development and fostering a culture of collaboration in educational institutions.