Vanda Santos ^1* Dina Tavares ² Cecília Costa ³

• ¹ 1Research Centre Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers (CIDTFF), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
• ² CI&DEI, ESECS, Polytechnic University of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal, Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
• ³ Research Centre Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers (CIDTFF), Department of Mathematics, ECT, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal, Vila Real, Portugal

and social interaction. Both modalities should be strategically integrated into math's teaching to address different learning needs and objectives. Fehér et al. investigate the use of propositional logic among university students in different study programs. They found significant differences according to gender, age, type of secondary school leaving exam and parents' highest education level. Mathematics-informatics students achieved the best results, followed by engineering, economics, education, sciences and humanities students. They also demonstrated that students performed differently in three selected areas of formal logic, with the lowest performance on statement negation tasks. Debrenti and Bordás focus on logical basic knowledge and operations in everyday life, mathematical, physical, chemical and biological contexts, in a western region of Romania. Their main results showed that daily life problems were solved correctly by the highest percentage of students, followed by problems in biological, physical and mathematical context. Students were least successful in logical problems related to chemistry. Thus, authors state that semantic content must be considered. The studies in this special issue emphasize the actual relevance of STEM Education, highlighting further innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to STEM. Furthermore, it addresses how STEM education relates to the development of 21st Century skills, challenges and opportunities. To this end, it is mandatory to continue prioritizing teachers (initial and continuing training) training, as well as using inclusive practices in STEM education. By addressing diverse contexts and using multiple theoretical frameworks, these studies can provide a solid foundation for future research and practice in the STEM Education. We hope that these contributions encourage more innovation and collaboration for STEM Education, necessary to develop innovative solutions to complex and really problems and build a more sustainable and equitable future.