**2. The era of the fourth industrial revolution**

In the past, several revolutions have defined the world and according to the World Economic Forum, the fourth industrial revolution is here already [10]. The first industrial revolution saw the introduction of the steam engine which transformed industries; it was a revolution that changed most agrarian societies to industrialised ones as the world discovered and began to rely on steam power and machine tools [11]. The second industrial revolution was based on combustion engines [12] and associated with new technologies for manufacturing that used electricity. This era witnessed the transition to electricity, the development of transport, communications and the development of high-tech industries. It was a period of growth for pre-existing industries as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) were brought into factories leading to advancements in education [11]. The focus of the third industrial revolution was on the paradigm shift from a society based on conventional fossil fuel to a society based on renewable or alternative energy. This was a revolution inspired by information technology and linked to web-based interconnectivity and computerisation [12]. Often referred to as the digital revolution, it involved the transition to telecommunication technologies, automation of production and rapid development of services [13].

Currently, the world is on the brink of another revolution that will alter the way we live, work and relate with one another. Lee et al. [13] state that the fourth industrial revolution has been in progress since the beginning of the twenty-first century and is a concept triggered and based on recent diverse technologies. This revolution is characterised by the convergence of breakthrough technologies such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, wearables and additive manufacturing that will transform production processes and business models across all industries [14]. Usually referred to as 4IR, the fourth industrial revolution has continued to gain momentum, influencing every sphere of human life. According to [12], twelve disruptive technologies reshaping the world in the era of 4IR are renewable energy, advanced materials, 3D printing, energy storage, genomics, advanced oil and gas exploration, Internet of things (IoT), cloud, advanced robotics and autonomous vehicles. This is a revolution characterised by a fusion of technologies, blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.

**5**

*Introductory Chapter: Theorising STEM Education in the Contemporary Society*

The World Economic Forum in 2015 defined a set of tipping points by which the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution will become widespread, such that it will create significant societal change. These points are the proliferation of the fourth industrial revolution technologies to levels where they make remarkable impacts on our lives and require shifts in education and employment. A survey of 800 high-tech experts and executives determined a series of dates by which these tipping points would be reached. They state that by 2025, implantable cell phones will exist. 2023 will see 80% of people in the world digitally present and 10% of reading glasses connected to the Internet. By 2022, 10% of people will be wearing internet-connected clothes, and 90% of the world population will have access to the Internet by 2024. The year 2023 will see 90% of the world population using smart phones, and over 50% of Internet traffic will be directed to homes and appliances by 2024 [10]. 3D printed cars will exist by 2022, and by 2024, there will be transplants of 3D printed organs such as the liver. Many other predictions suggest extensive integration of artificial intelligence in the twenty-first-century workforce. This will lead to the loss of 75 million jobs by 2022, but 133 million new jobs will be created by new technologies for people trained to work with machines and data [14]. In fact, 65% of children

entering school today will eventually work at jobs that do not currently exist.

both bioengineered organisms and new materials within buildings.

identified as a new approach to be used in the education system globally.

**4. STEM education responses for the contemporary society**

Statistics show that as of 1950, the world population was 2.5 billion, and this increases to 5.3 billion by 1990 and 7.3 billion by 2017. It has been projected that by 2050, the world population will be 10 billion. Increasing population coupled with the loss of arable land, as a result of global climate change, will require an increase in food production efficiency of more than 50% by 2050, thereby placing an imperative on industry 4.0 technologies to develop groundbreaking new sources of food production. Environmental threats arising from a buildup of Co2 as well as other greenhouse gases are also expected, and according to [12], there will be an increase in temperature to more than 10°C. Global warming could make the earth uninhabitable in which case, the result would be widespread crop failures, subjecting large fractions of the world's populations to heat exhaustion and potential death. The predicted rise in temperature will lead to a great reduction in agricultural productivity by as much as 15% for every degree of warming. New technologies in this era could attenuate global warming by absorbing excess carbon dioxide using

According to Professor Klaus Schwab at the World Economic Forum, this "transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive, involving stakeholders of the global polity, from the public and private sectors, to academic and civil society" ([10], p. 5). Educational responses to 4IR would be to retool STEM institutions and curriculum to provide new departments and science programmes in new interdisciplinary fields in a bid to provide more efficiently trained workers to help advance and accelerate the development of ever-more sophisticated artificial intelligence, biotechnology and nanotechnology. The education system is adopting these new changes, and STEM education has been

As stated by [16], the implications of 4IR for education is twofolds with the first being required research and interventions from scholars and scientists on making

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90422*

**3. Projections of 4IR**
