Strategies and Challenges in Enhancing STEM Teachers’ Scientific Literacy

Abstract

Scientific literacy constitutes a core dimension of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers’ professional competence and directly influences the quality of STEM education. Despite its recognized importance, efforts to strengthen STEM teachers’ scientific literacy remain constrained by persistent practical challenges and a fragmented knowledge base. This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesize evidence on effective strategies and prevailing barriers. Using a structured search and screening process in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), twenty-nine studies were selected in strict accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, ensuring a rigorous approach to literature inclusion and evaluation. Four principal strategies for enhancing STEM teachers’ scientific literacy were identified: thematic workshops, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), mentoring models, and curriculum-integrated, context-based project initiatives. These approaches promote development through sustained collaboration, situated practice, and interdisciplinary integration. However, four interrelated challenges continue to impede progress: limited time for professional development due to heavy instructional workloads; rapid technological change that outpaces teachers’ updating capacity; restricted access to high-quality instructional materials and laboratory resources; and the lack of validated, context-sensitive assessment instruments. The findings highlight that improving STEM teachers’ scientific literacy requires a coordinated, systemic framework rather than isolated interventions. Institutional support, sustained resource investment, cross-sector collaboration, and robust evaluation mechanisms are essential to strengthening teacher competence and advancing STEM education quality. By integrating dispersed evidence, this review advances existing knowledge by overcoming the fragmentation of the field, establishing a novel conceptual bridge between pedagogical interventions and systemic barriers, and providing a comprehensive evidence base to inform the design of sustainable professional development policies and practices for enhancing STEM teachers’ scientific literacy.