Abstract

The emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines in schools has caused advocates for art education to propose the addition of the arts to the study of STEM, transforming STEM into STEAM. Many educators see STEAM as a way to engage students with interdisciplinary topics and to integrate the arts within the school curriculum (Allina, 2018;Katz-Buonincontro, 2018; Maeda, 2013; Sousa & Pilecki,2018; Watson, 2016). One method of implementing STEAM is Design Thinking (Henriksen, 2017). STEAM education and Design Thinking are both models for interdisciplinary collaboration and problem solving to foster economic innovation, develop 21st-century skills and entrepreneurial literacy, and prepare students to work within a capitalist designer economy (jagodzinski, 2012; Kalin, 2019). But what is often missing in arguments for arts integration, STEAM education, or Design Thinking is the power of art to encourage rebellion, critical self-awareness, refusals, reconstructions, and provocations (Greene, 1978, 1995; Kalin, 2019).

Original Publication Citation

Graham, M. A. (2020). Deconstructing the Bright Future of STEAM and Design Thinking. Art Education 73(3), 6-12.