Indonesian Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions of STEMPreneur for Supporting Computational Thinking in Science Learning

Abstract

The increasing emphasis on computational thinking (CT) in primary education has encouraged the exploration of innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate scientific inquiry with authentic problem solving. One emerging approach is STEMPreneur, which combines STEM education with entrepreneurial thinking to foster innovation and value creation. This study explored Indonesian primary school teachers' perceptions of STEMPreneur for promoting computational thinking in Primary Science (IPAS) learning. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed involving 50 primary school teachers from Jakarta and Bekasi, followed by semi-structured interviews with five purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that teachers perceived STEMPreneur as a relevant and pedagogically valuable approach that supports the development of decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, algorithmic thinking, and evaluation. However, teachers also identified challenges related to pedagogical knowledge, instructional resources, computational thinking assessment, and curriculum time. To address these challenges, participants recommended continuous professional development, practical instructional resources, explicit computational thinking assessment, and authentic project-based learning. The study proposes a pedagogical ecosystem for STEMPreneur implementation that provides a conceptual framework for integrating computational thinking into primary science education.