A Systematic Literature Review of Integrated STEM Education: Uncovering Consensus and Diversity in Principles and Characteristics

Integrated STEM education is increasingly present in classrooms and in educational research, as it is proposed as a possible strategy to improve the problems of students’ lack of interest in scientific–technological disciplines. However, this increased interest in STEM education has been paralleled...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Portillo Blanco, Ane, Deprez, Hanne, De Cock, Mieke, Guisasola Aranzabal, Genaro, Zuza Elosegi, Kristina
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/69578
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/69578
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:STEM education
integration
theoretical frameworks
principles
systematic literature review
primary and secondary education
integrated STEM
Descripción
Sumario:Integrated STEM education is increasingly present in classrooms and in educational research, as it is proposed as a possible strategy to improve the problems of students’ lack of interest in scientific–technological disciplines. However, this increased interest in STEM education has been paralleled by a loss of cohesion in the interpretations of its theoretical basis and by an ongoing discussion on integrated STEM education’s foundations, making its understanding, translation into real projects, and evaluation difficult to undertake. Published articles defining a STEM theoretical framework have different descriptions, so the aim of this systematic literature review is to analyse these explanations and compare them with each other. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, 27 articles of interest about STEM and STEAM education were obtained and analysed with a focus on the principles and characteristics described in the texts. After organising the information and analysing the similarities and differences in the principles and characteristics, we concluded that there is great consensus on the principles of “integration”, “real-world problems”, “inquiry”, “design”, and “teamwork”. Nonetheless, this review identifies areas of discussion regarding both the principles and their characteristics that invite further analysis to refine our understanding of what integrated STEM education should entail.