The article discusses issues related to STEM education; it is emphasized that the need to prepare students with twenty-first-century skills through STEM-related teaching is strong, especially at the elementary level. The authors stress that workshops, using kits to build and program robots, are a modern form of interdisciplinary education of children and youth. The rationale for conducting such activities in schools is found in the European reference framework in the context of training of key competences. Classes in robotics--properly taught--will have an impact on the development of mathematical literacy and scientific-technical information and social competences. At the same time, competence is understood to mean a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the situation. Besides, an analysis is presented of basic legal regulations in this matter as well as some results of a survey, conducted in Poland and Ukraine among in-service teachers and prospective teachers. [For full proceedings, see ED571459.]