STEAM education for sustainable futures: A pedagogical framework for education for sustainable development
Yoonil Auh 1 * , Sang-eun Hwang 2 , Minjung Cho 2
More Detail
1 Department of Computer and Communications Engineering, KyungHee Cyber University, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA2 Department of Music, Hansei University, Gunpo, Gyeonggi-do, SOUTH KOREA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study examines the design and implementation of a six-week science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education program aligned with education for sustainable development (ESD) through interdisciplinary and arts-integrated learning. Conducted in early 2025 with 28 upper elementary and middle school students (ages 10-14), the exploratory pilot program integrated STEAM domains to support systems-oriented thinking, ethical reflection, and interdisciplinary engagement with sustainability-related challenges. Grounded in an exploratory qualitative design, the program employed project-based learning, reflective dialogue, and arts-based inquiry to operationalize ESD principles in classroom practice. Qualitative data from student journals, facilitator observation logs, and reflective debriefs were analyzed thematically to examine patterns in learner engagement, cross-domain conceptual connections, and emerging value-oriented reasoning. Thematic analysis revealed recurring and increasingly articulated patterns of systems awareness, ethical reflection, creative risk-taking, and interdisciplinary transfer as students engaged in iterative design processes and expressive problem framing. Rather than claiming measurable learning gains or confirmed transformation, the study offers a descriptive account of how STEAM-ESD integration can be enacted pedagogically and how such integration may support conditions associated with transformative learning rather than demonstrable transformation. The findings contribute a practice-informed framework and empirical illustration relevant to educators and curriculum designers exploring interdisciplinary approaches to ESD in pilot and non-formal educational settings.

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

PEDAGOGICAL RES, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2026, Article No: em0259

https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/18125

Publication date: 14 Mar 2026

Article Views: 35

Article Downloads: 19

Open Access References How to cite this article