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STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is an educational approach that is now accompanied by the STEAM (STEM + Arts) variant. Both educational approaches seek to renew the scientific literacy of younger generations, and, with the inclusion of the arts, student creativity is described as a key skill that must receive special attention. A review is therefore presented here of empirical STEM and STEAM-based educational interventions so as to determine their potential to develop student creativity. A systematic search of papers over one decade, 2010-2020, found 14 didactic interventions on the Web of Science and Scopus databases for analysis within the review process. The analysis suggested that: (1) the interventions based both on STEM and STEAM have multiple and even contradictory forms, both in theory and in practice; (2) there appears to be a preference among researchers for the Likert-type test to evaluate creativity; and (3) both educational approaches show evidence of positive effects on student creativity. In the light of the principal findings, it was concluded that arguing for the implementation of STEAM education over STEM education, with a view to developing or promoting student creativity, is not in agreement with the evidence from the empirical studies.

For several decades there has been a broad consensus on the need to promote scientific literacy and, ultimately, to promote the full development of student competency from an early age. However, many of the results recorded in the educational field are not very encouraging. Although interdisciplinarity has a more extensive trajectory, the continuous questioning of traditional teaching methods, due to their inefficiency, has given rise to the emergence of educational approaches that integrate the teaching of diverse scientific disciplines in a more contextualized, coherent, and comprehensive manner. The body of empirical research on the application of these approaches has grown, while leaving behind some essential theoretical questions. In the present work, a theoretical framework is proposed for integrated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, a current teaching approach with the important momentum. Based on the epistemological stance of Larry Laudan, three levels of scientific commitment are adopted: with theories, methods, and aims. Regarding the theoretical commitment, three axes of support are established for this framework: epistemological, psychological, and didactical. This mechanism allows us to construct a consistent model that may contribute to developing coherent integrated STEM education. In addition, an example of a real application of this theoretical framework is provided in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a STEM didactic unit in the primary education stage, demonstrating its coherence and viability.

If we are to address the complex needs of contemporary education, then reflection on the arts when talking about integrated education is somewhat logical and should be considered as one principal objective of Arts Education. Current educational policies at the international level point toward a more integrated education, however, there is no consensus over a real arts integration, nor significant reflection within the classroom. This situation has worsened over recent years, even when the arts are being incorporated in some models of integrated education in full expansion. In this study, we present a state of the question of the place of the arts in integrated education. To do so, we place arts integration within its historical context, and define and explain four major problems (instrumentalization of the arts, undervaluation of the arts, poor teacher training, neglecting evaluation). We then go on to present the significance of the arts within integration as the basic axis of the existing theoretical discourse in the literature, defining five styles of integration according to their significance (subordinated or service-based, peripheral, collaborative, leading role, artistic). Finally, we compile and discuss the main approaches to have arisen in the context of arts integration. This study may be added to the contributions in defense of arts integration, rescuing and clarifying the currently submerged and confused debate, in order to restore its full potential in accordance with the new social and political demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the urgent challenges of sustainability in our changing world, STEM education must evolve to integrate a stronger focus on socioenvironmental dimensions. This study examines how students in geomatics courses understand the nature of STEM (NoSTEM) in the context of meteorology and fire ecology—fields closely tied to sustainability. Using two validated mixed-method instruments comprising closed- and open-ended items, we assessed students' comprehension across cognitive–epistemic and socio-institutional dimensions, framed within the family resemblance approach (FRA). Data collected from 44 students in meteorology and 57 in fire ecology were analyzed using descriptive statistics and phenomenographic methods. Our findings indicate that, while students demonstrate a stronger grasp of technical concepts, their understanding of socio-institutional implications is comparatively limited. These results highlight the need to align STEM education with sustainability education, emphasizing real-world applications and the integration of socio-institutional elements into the curriculum. Addressing these gaps is essential for preparing students to engage with complex sustainability challenges, such as those posed by climate change, resource management, and disaster mitigation. Future research should investigate long-term interdisciplinary educational strategies to foster a holistic understanding of NoSTEM and its role in promoting sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multidimensional character of competence development involves a profound methodological change in how the teaching process is conceived. An integrated STEAM education is one potentially useful methodological approach to assist in this matter. Using design research, an integrated STEAM approach was designed, implemented and assessed with 121 students in their sixth year of primary education. Its effect was analysed through a mixed methods study. The results show that the students obtain a high level of competence after the approach is applied in all of the key competences, with an emphasis on the level attained by girls in scientific skills. These results seem to reinforce the hypothesis that an integrated STEAM education is effective as a possible avenue for improving competence development in the primary education years as it didactically responds to the complexity of today's world. [Translation from Spanish by Jennifer Martin.]

In primary and secondary schools, the disciplines encompassed in "STEM"--Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics--have usually been studied as separate subjects, with little effort directed towards non-anecdotal integration. "Integrated STEM education" is one of the most recent interdisciplinary proposals and, under its umbrella, school disciplines are beginning to be integrated in an educationally fruitful way. STEM as a renovated approach is gaining ground, despite the infancy of its philosophical analysis. Explicit epistemological discussion of integrated STEM proposals is either absent or blurred. The overall aim of this paper is therefore to establish an initial framework for philosophical discussion, to help analyse the aims and discourse of integrated STEM education, and consider the implications that adopting any particular epistemological view might have on the aims for general education, and on the construction of science curricula oriented towards citizenship and social justice. We envisage humanist values for integrated STEM education and, after revisiting the currently proposed relationships between the STEM knowledge areas, we adopt a model of a "seamless web" for such relationships that is coherent with humanist values. A few issues emerging from this model are addressed through the lens of the so-called "family resemblance approach", a framework from the field of research on the nature of science, in order to identify some potential central features of "nature of STEM".

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Society is changing rapidly and the educational system is not following a parallel path, generating an urgent need for educational renewal. In this sense, integrated science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education (i-STEAM) represents an educational approach in full expansion which is postulated to be aligned with the educational needs of society; proof of this is the continuous increase of publications in this line of research. There is a clear predominance of empirical studies on this approach, while its theoretical foundation is less developed, which raises a problem in defining its educational potential. In this study we identify and review the different theoretical models developed for i-STEAM published in high impact journals with the aim of making a critical reflection and assessing the real scope of this approach. The results obtained show that, although there are some papers that show relevant theoretical aspects, there are still few works with theoretical frameworks that could provide a robust and holistic foundation (considering epistemological, psychological and didactical aspects) for i-STEAM education. In light of these results, we emphasize the need to continue working on the theoretical support of this approach, which would allow teachers to implement it effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]