STEAM Education

This study design was an exploratory case study, with semi-structured interviews and document analysis to investigate how STE(A)M education (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) is implemented in Indonesia. The interviews were held with fifteen participants, with practitioners, experts, and policymakers involved. Ninety-nine STE(A)M activities were collected for document analysis, which was analysed through qualitative content analysis. We discovered that STE(A)M implementations in Indonesia focused on research activities, conferences, teacher training, and activities for children and families. These included four implementation stages: initial, growth, expansion, and established stage. The finding pointed out that implementing integrated learning in Indonesia focuses on STE(A)M activities with engineering design processes as the core activities. Moreover, we found that the Indonesian government is providing substantial support to cultivate STE(A)M education by conducting massive teachers’ training and building learning communities among teachers. Therefore, this provides direction for future research to broaden STE(A)M education implementations around the globe by uncovering Indonesian initiatives.

This study details the development of a plant STEAM education program aligned with the Grade 6 elementary school Korean national science curriculum, using a regionally linked curriculum as its design framework. The primary objective was to investigate the plant program’s effectiveness in enhancing elementary students’ environmental competencies. Ninety-one Grade 6 students, divided into an experimental class (n = 46) and a comparison class (n = 45), participated in the study. Data were collected before and after the program through an assessment tool designed to evaluate environmental competencies, in addition to collecting field notes and student learning outcomes, which were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results revealed significant improvements in students’ environmental competencies, with notable enhancements in exhibiting environmental sensitivity and displaying a sense of environmental community. This study offers an illustrative model showcasing the integration of plant-related, STEAM, and a regionally linked curriculum in education.

The advancement of generative AI technologies underscores the need for AI literacy, particularly in Southeast Asia’s elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. This study explores the development of AI literacy principles for elementary students. Utilizing existing AI literacy models, a three-session classroom intervention was implemented in an Indonesian school, grounded in constructivist, constructionist, and transformative learning theories. Through design-based research (DBR) and network analysis of reflection papers (n = 77), the intervention was evaluated and redesigned. Findings revealed clusters of interdependent elements of learner experiences, categorized into successes, struggles, and alignments with learning theories. These were translated into design moves for future intervention iterations, forming design principles for AI literacy development. The study contributes insights into optimizing the positive effects and minimizing the negative impacts of AI in education.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how children’s art can document emergent sensemaking of spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning is the understanding of how both people and objects interact with, and relate to, one another. The recent literature has argued for spatial reasoning to be part of multiple domains in STEAM education by highlighting the dynamic nature of spatial thinking relevant in everyday life. The data come from a larger participatory design-based research project that incorporated play, environmental education, and embodiment in a STEAM curriculum. The paper analyzed art created by a focal group of children (6–8 years) as they learned about the kelp forest ecosystem over time. Findings reveal that spatial reasoning is not only an inseparable part of sensemaking in STEAM education, but has implications for environmental education in the elementary curriculum

This study aimed to determine the present status of integrated curriculum (grades 1–3) with experience to support transformative learning practice at the school level. The national and locally prepared curriculum to teach the integrated curriculum with transformative learning theory was reviewed in different contexts. This study followed a critical case study design under a qualitative, transformative, and participatory methodology. This study was conducted in the Gorkha district, selecting the three schools and head teachers. Themes were determined based on observation and interview data. The finding indicates that the revised STEAM-based integrated curriculum tried to provide holistic, transformative learning practice by enhancing students' knowledge, skills and entrepreneurship capacity to culturally diverse students. However, head teachers and other teachers could not successfully develop an enthusiasm for its perfect implication in the school education system. Concrete professional training could support the implication of a newly revised STEAM-based integrated curriculum.

There is a lack of clarity about what constitutes Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education and what the arts contribute. In this paper the authors discuss a distinct model, theorised from a five-year study of a particular, innovative STEAM education project (The Imagineerium), and developed by the researchers through working with primary school teachers in England within a second project (Teach-Make). The paper examines how teachers implemented this model, the Trowsdale art-making model for education (the TAME), and reflected on its value and positive impact on their planning and pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on two studies: firstly, a five-year, mixed methods, participative study of The Imagineerium and secondly a participative and collaborative qualitative study of Teach-Make. Findings: Study of The Imagineerium showed strong positive educational outcomes for pupils and an appetite from teachers to translate the approach to the classroom. The Teach-Make project showed that with a clear curriculum model (the TAME) and professional development to improve teachers' planning and active pedagogical skills, they could design and deliver “imagineerium-like” schemes of work in their classrooms. Teachers reported a positive impact on both their own approach to supporting learning, as well as pupil progression and enjoyment. Originality/value: The paper argues that the TAME, a consolidation of research evidence from The Imagineerium and developed through Teach-Make, offers both a distinctive and effective model for STEAM and broader education, one that is accessible to, valued by and manageable for teachers.