STEM at school and at home: what holds schools back, what parents can do and why it matters
Schools want more hands-on learning but run into limits of time, equipment and teacher training. Here is what you can do at home in a few minutes a day, and what Ukrainian data says about the skills children will need.
In our previous article we explained what STEM is and why it pays to begin in the preschool years. This time we look at practice: why the approach is spreading through schools more slowly than many would like, what families can do about it, and why STEM gets so much attention at national level in Ukraine.
In this article
- Why it is not easy for schools
- STEM at home: five simple habits
- If you want to buy something: what to look for
- Why it matters for the future
- Summing up
Why it is not easy for schools
Most teachers agree with the idea of hands-on, connected learning. Between “I agree” and “I do it every week”, though, sit some very practical obstacles.
Time and the timetable
A project in which children design, build and test hardly fits into a 45-minute period. If it also spans maths and science, two teachers have to coordinate and find a shared slot.
Teacher preparation
Running a lesson where nobody knows the right answer in advance is harder than explaining ready-made material. The teacher has to handle unexpected questions, organise group work and sometimes admit not knowing the answer either. Without targeted training and support this cannot fairly be expected of teachers, and that applies at every level, including kindergarten, where exploring comes most naturally.
Equipment and class size
Kits, sensors and tablets cost money and need maintaining and replacing. In a full classroom, each child also gets hands-on time less often than they need.
How success is measured
Schools are often judged on test results. Yet the way a child works through a problem is much harder to capture in a test than a single correct answer.
In Ukraine these difficulties are recognised at government level. The Concept for the Development of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Education (STEM Education), approved for the period up to 2027, explicitly names outdated equipment in classrooms, science and maths being taught by teachers trained in other subjects, and the lack of access to good STEM education for some children, particularly in rural areas. Among its solutions are a network of STEM centres and labs and better teacher training. PISA 2025 data show that equipment is still a pressing issue: 61% of students attended schools whose principals reported that a lack of educational material (textbooks, IT equipment, laboratory material) hindered instruction at least to some extent, down from 76% in 2022. Change across whole systems takes time, which is why what happens at home carries real weight.
STEM at home: five simple habits
You do not need a lab or a teaching degree for STEM at home. As a parent you have an advantage no teacher has: you know your child. You know what they enjoy, when they are tired and what sparks their enthusiasm. Here are five habits that fit easily into an ordinary week:
- A question instead of a ready answer. When your child asks why a boat floats, turn it around: “How could we find out?” Then test it together in the bath with different objects.
- The kitchen as a lab. Weighing flour, halving a recipe or watching dough rise is maths and chemistry you can eat afterwards.
- Building with a brief. Instead of “build something”, try “build a paper bridge that can hold a mug”. A clear goal turns play into a genuine engineering task.
- Coding without a screen first. Start with a game where your child gives instructions to a “robot”, namely you. Once they realise commands must be precise and in the right order, they are ready for block-based coding.
- A log of experiments. A few words or a quick sketch after each attempt: what we tried, what happened and what we will change next time. Your child learns that a mistake is data, not defeat.
How much time does it take?
Less than you might expect. Regularity counts for more than length: twenty focused minutes a few times a week achieve more than one long afternoon once a month. And if your child is not in the mood, do not push. Curiosity cannot be ordered.
The best STEM activity is the one where the child forgets they are learning, and the parent forgets to check their phone.
If you want to buy something: what to look for
Household items are plenty to begin with. If you are considering a building kit or a robotics set, though, a few questions are worth asking:
- Does it fit your child’s age and skills? A toy that is too simple soon gets boring; one that is too complex puts children off. Sets with several difficulty levels have the edge.
- Can your child create with it, not just assemble it once? The best value comes from sets that make several models and leave room for their own ideas.
- Can you see the result of the code? When a child changes a command and the model immediately moves differently, cause and effect become clearer than in a game that happens only on screen.
- Will it grow with your child? Ideally you start with picture commands and later move on to full block-based coding without buying everything again.
- Is it safe? Toys sold in Ukraine must comply with the Technical Regulation on Toy Safety and carry the national mark of conformity with technical regulations. Check the age marking and the warnings in Ukrainian too, especially where small parts are involved.
And finally, even the best kit does not replace time spent together. It is the start of a conversation, not a substitute for one.
Why it matters for the future
Nobody can say exactly which jobs will exist in twenty years. What is certain is that technology will be part of almost every kind of work, and that IT is already one of Ukraine’s key export industries. Official figures bear this out:
| Indicator | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ukraine’s exports of computer services (2025) | about USD 6.7 billion | National Bank of Ukraine |
| Share of computer services in Ukraine’s services exports (2025) | about 42% | National Bank of Ukraine |
| Adults aged 18–70 with at least basic digital skills (2025) | 57.5% | Ministry of Digital Transformation |
| Adults with above-basic digital skills (2025) | 36% | Ministry of Digital Transformation |
| Teenagers aged 10–17 with at least basic digital skills (2025) | 81% | Ministry of Digital Transformation |
| 15-year-olds with at least baseline proficiency in science (PISA 2025) | 65% (OECD average: 74%) | OECD |
The table points to a simple conclusion: computer services already bring in about two-fifths of Ukraine’s services exports, yet only just over a third of adults have above-basic digital skills. Teenagers are more at home in the digital world, but science and maths are still hard going for many. That is why it pays to nurture an interest in technology and science from an early age, in girls and boys alike.
None of this means every child should become a programmer. The skills STEM builds, such as breaking a problem into smaller parts, trying a solution, evaluating it and improving it, are just as useful in medicine, crafts, the arts or running a business. It matters equally that children do not merely use technology but understand it well enough to judge it critically.
Summing up
Schools are moving towards hands-on STEM step by step, but families can start right away. All it takes is curiosity, a few good questions and a willingness to let children try things and get them wrong.
If you would like to give home experiments a firmer structure, a kit your child builds and then programs in a Scratch-based app can help. The model that does not move the way your child intended on the first run is exactly the moment when real learning begins.