When it comes to the by now familiar STEM-STEAM debate, a common misconception is that STEAM learning aims at prioritizing art programs at the expense of STEM skills. Although this is far from the fact, the somewhat strange thing is that even specialists in the education field often fall prey to this general misconception.
STEM and STEAM Learning: An Integrative Approach, this perhaps at least partly stems from the fact that proponents of the STEAM education have, among other things, also raised the racial and gender gap issues found to be inherent in the US STEM education structure. However, it is now high time that we realized that STEAM education proposals speak basically for an integrative approach to education and do not try to undermine the necessities of STEM skills at all. So, there is no reason to see red with the inclusion of the letter ‘A’. Champions of STEAM education are only trying to stress the fact that a good knowledge of arts (in its various forms) will only help student become more creative in their thought process and will thus be able to apply their STEM skills in a more effective manner.
