Elementary Student Perspectives on STEAM Education

Abstract

In this research brief, we synthesize research on integrated STEAM teaching and learning from our multi-state team, comprised of scholars from elementary mathematics and science education. This work focuses on student perceptions of STEAM experiences to inform practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders in best practices. This synthesis brings forth the following contributions to STEAM education learned from elementary students’ perspectives of their STEAM learning experiences to offer new ideas about best practices in STEAM: (1) students have various access points to STEAM and connect with the personal expression and meaning-making related to the “arts” embedded in the experience; (2) empathy can be an important driver of deep engagement with their learning experiences towards a transformative outcome; and (3) STEAM learning experiences can be a space for implementing student-centered instructional practices guided by reform efforts in science and mathematics education. Next steps will be discussed to complement the burgeoning STEAM education literature base with a continued focus on all students’ perspectives about their learning experiences. We recommend longitudinal studies on the impact of STEAM; these are now possible as STEAM initiatives become more systematically rooted in schools and communities.

1. Introduction

STEAM education has gained attention in educational research as a space and place within the curriculum to integrate disciplines, foster creativity and innovation, and engage students in inquiry-based pedagogies. Existing research on STEAM education demonstrates its potential to improve student engagement in science and mathematics and help students discover new opportunities and careers (Hughes et al., 2022; Sung et al., 2023; Wu et al., 2022). Research shows students’ perceptions and interest in science and mathematics can become more positive after engaging with STEAM lessons and activities (Kijima et al., 2021). Through our research team’s body of work on STEAM education, we seek to extend the student perspective on STEAM education to the burgeoning literature base. This work complements the focus on student outcomes but centers on the thoughts and ideas of the students themselves as they experience integrated instruction in the K–5 classroom. Student perception data can provide valuable feedback on the quality and effectiveness of instructional approaches like STEAM. As STEAM initiatives gain momentum across K–5 learning environments, there is a need for students’ perspectives on STEAM to guide effective instructional practices.

In this review, we synthesize a decade of research on STEAM teaching and learning from our multi-state team of scholars in mathematics and science education with expertise across the spectrum of K–5. Our work has focused on exploring student perceptions of STEAM and placing those perspectives within the literature base that informs best practices in integrated STEAM experiences to inform practitioners and researchers. We have learned that: (1) students have various access points to STEAM and connect with the personal expression and meaning-making related to the “arts” embedded in the experience; (2) empathy can be an important driver of deep engagement with their learning experiences towards a transformative outcome; and (3) STEAM learning experiences can be a space for implementing student-centered instructional practices called for in reform efforts in science and mathematics education.

2. Overview of Synthesis

2.1. Methodology

For this synthesis of work, we focused on studies that we have conducted from 2014 and 2024 that centered on K–5 elementary student perspectives of their STEAM learning experiences. Studies were selected if they: (1) reported elementary-level student voice data in STEAM contexts; and (2) included substantive descriptions of students’ experiences, attitudes, or self-reported learning. To foreground a coherent, in-depth body of work and surface cumulative patterns that individual projects alone cannot reveal, we confined our synthesis review to our own K–5 student-perspective STEAM investigations published between 2014 and 2024. While we acknowledge the potential for bias in reviewing our own studies, our intimate familiarity with their contexts, methods, and findings enabled a richer, more nuanced synthesis. We use a narrative synthesis (Popay et al., 2006) to group similar findings into thematic clusters based on recurring focal points—such as students’ problem-solving strategies, collaborative behaviors, and reflections on creative tasks. Each cluster was reviewed collaboratively by the lead author and a coauthor to ensure consistency and resolve any discrepancies in interpretation. As we reviewed these manuscripts, we looked for overarching themes to guide recommendations for educators in STEAM best practices. The purpose of this review is to draw new conclusions that have emerged from our focus on student perspectives. We describe the impact STEAM has made on students within these various studies. We focus here on specific articles (see

Table 1. Manuscripts reviewed and key findings.

Manuscript	Methods	Key Findings
Article 1 (Bush et al., 2020)	Thematic analysis: systemic and iterative analysis of students’ written responses. Qualitative: grounded in a transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 2009) approach to analysis.	Identification of STEAM disciplines: many students identified strongly with science and mathematics within the context of STEAM. Progression of STEAM activities: activities progressed from simple engagement (i.e., STEAM activities), to solving authentic problems, to empathetic problem-solving. The most transformative learning experiences occurred when students engaged in empathetic problem-solving that considered the needs and feelings of others. Metacognition: substantial evidence of students reflecting on their learning processes. Impact on Perceptions of Learning: STEAM experiences positively influenced students’ perceptions of learning.
Article 2 (Cook et al., 2020)	Instrumental case study: detailed exploration of a phenomenon. Inductive and deductive data analysis. Note: although this manuscript focused on teacher practices, the reflections were guided throughout by student feedback that the teachers collected and used formatively in their lessons.	Evolution of planning practices—teachers showed growth in aligning their curricula more closely with fewer and more specific standards. Integration of Arts and Technology—teachers broadened their definitions of arts and technology. Pedagogical shifts—teachers moved from planning activities to developing deeper learning experiences. Assessment challenges—while formative assessment practices improved, integrating comprehensive assessments that effectively measured learning across STEAM disciplines remained challenging.
Article 3 (Edelen et al., 2023)	Theoretical framework—employs positioning theory (Davies & Harré, 1999) to analyze and reframe the roles of students within STEAM Literature review—reviewed existing studies in the literature and frameworks of integrated STEAM education, highlighting the predominance of teacher-focused perspectives and identifying gaps regarding student experiences and positioning. Conceptual analysis—developed a conceptual framework that centers on students’ perspectives.	Student positioning—traditional STEAM approaches often see students as recipients of knowledge rather than active participants who can influence learning outcomes New framework—STEAM might include empathy as a central component to move towards transformative learning.

) that contributed important aspects of elementary student perspectives on STEAM to make specific recommendations about research-informed practices in STEAM teaching and learning and identify next steps for the field.

2.2. Contribution of Synthesis

The purpose of this synthesis of the literature was to examine our research conducted on student perspectives in STEAM to draw new conclusions about the impact of STEAM from elementary students’ perspectives and make explicit the recommendations these various studies can provide on research-informed practices in STEAM education. While each individual manuscript focused on specific key areas within student perspectives (i.e., motivation, interest, empathy, etc.), the collective body of work can inform our efforts as educators attempting to create transformative experiences through STEAM education. Furthermore, in our synthesis, we draw new conclusions about K–5 STEAM education practices by building from our insights gained from a decade of research exploring the perspectives of students. While each included paper (see Table 1) offers valuable insights on their own, this report seeks to synthesize these studies to move beyond the scope of individual studies. Our goal, thus, is to narratively synthesize these studies to provide new insights and offer broader findings across our decade of research.

Our research team is comprised of scholars with expertise in science, mathematics, and integrated STEAM education with a scholarly focus on contributing research on student perspectives in STEAM experiences and who have worked to collect student perspectives from elementary classrooms in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the United States as well as in public and private sectors of education.

3. Findings from the Synthesis

3.1. The Arts in STEAM

Unlike STEM, which historically has its roots primarily in the aim to equip students for workforce pathways to meet the demands of a global economy (National Research Council, 2012, STEAM education, by integrating the Arts intentionally and thoughtfully), has roots in aiming to engage with a broader spectrum of learners (Bequette & Bequette, 2012). This invites many more students into the space by recognizing the roles of aesthetics, beauty, and emotion in problem-solving (Bailey, 2016) and firmly repositions them at the center of the experience so that students might tackle real-world issues with, and through, creativity, empathy, and personal expression. Central to our findings over the decade is the idea that students have many access points and on- and off-ramps, into and within STEAM, through the Arts. The Arts enable connections to personal expression and meaning-making. These opportunities serve as invitations into STEAM learning and enable students to shape their own thinking and build their own knowledge based upon their lived experiences. By recognizing and honoring students’ frames of reference, shaped by their culture and language (Mezirow, 2009), STEAM education is unique in how it empowers students by inviting them to approach learning through various lenses.

This repositioning in STEAM learning is crucial, as it offers students the opportunity to redefine their roles and responsibilities in the learning process alongside their teachers (and sometimes despite more traditional environments), thus enabling them to explore STEAM in the context of their worlds. Our work confirms what Greene (1995) suggests: the Arts are uniquely positioned to truly transform instruction in concert with whatever content students encounter. Because of its potential transformative power, the Arts cannot be relegated to a “craft” role or included as a discipline only as a means of checking off on a list. Greene (1995) continues, “If the significance of the Arts for growth, inventiveness and problem-solving is recognized, a disparate stasis may be overcome” (p. 382). Because the Arts in STEAM welcome a diversity of connection points that resonate with a wider array of student interests, learning needs, and identities, they contribute to a sense of awe, wonder and creativity, enabling a departure from convergent thinking patterns typically associated with STEM disciplines to more divergent, creative approaches that are vital for innovation.

Students also tell us that the integration of Arts into STEM education promotes experiential, inquiry-based learning that is deeply student-centered. It encourages students to bring their unique “funds of knowledge” (Gonzalez et al., 2005) to the classroom, fostering environments where students’ cultural and experiential backgrounds are seen as assets. This approach not only broadens the scope of inquiry but also provides opportunities for students to direct the learning process, leading to more personalized and meaningful educational experiences.

Students find deeper personal meaning when the Arts are integrated directly into problem statements for inquiry projects, rather than just as supplementary activities. In a notable example, students designed solar lamps for peers in a rural mountainous region with frequent power outages. The project required them to incorporate indigenous artistic elements from that mountain community into their designs. Students reported that this approach expanded their learning beyond just solar energy science, fostering genuine appreciation and awareness of cultural artistic traditions. This integration created a more holistic educational experience that connected technical skills with cultural understanding.

With students at the center, the emphasis on the Arts within STEAM helps teachers to gain a deeper understanding of their students. It allows for more varied and holistic assessment methods and approaches, reflecting the true multifaceted nature of student learning and intelligence. In the pursuit to better reach all students, the collaborative ethos of STEAM encourages and demands that educators prioritize working with colleagues from different disciplines. This mirrors the collaborative inquiry process in which students are engaged. In turn, this cross-pollination of skills and viewpoints is essential for fostering the interdisciplinary thinking required for complex problem-solving in the real world.

Our work demonstrates that the Arts are not merely an add-on to STEM education, but an integral component that enhances student engagement, meaning-making, and the application of complex concepts. The Arts in STEAM education serve to democratize access to STEM fields, inviting more students to the table to see themselves as capable and creative participants within and between disciplines. Based on our team’s research highlighting student perspectives, we recommend the following strategies for educators to meaningfully intersect with the needs and interests of students and integrate the Arts into STEAM education:

• Embrace a wide definition of the Arts to include various forms of creative expression such as design, digital media, and performance. This broad approach allows for the inclusion of diverse student interests and backgrounds. Land (2013) identified potentially transformative uses of the Arts, such as musical compositions, kinetic art, product design, prototype development, and performance art, as ways to connect many students and foster engagement with STEM through the Arts;
• Employ formative and summative assessment practices that promote student choice and voice, ensuring that each learner can find a point of connection with the STEAM curriculum at any point during the curriculum;
• Facilitate experiential and inquiry-based learning opportunities informed by the Arts that emphasize the process of discovery and innovation over rote memorization of content;
• Develop interdisciplinary experiences that enable students to apply their learning in real-world contexts, thereby enhancing the relevance and impact of their educational experiences;
• Provide or participate in professional learning that focuses on the integration of STEAM disciplines, emphasizing collaborative and empathetic teaching practices that reflect the interconnectedness of the Arts and sciences, completing the same thought process and experience as the students.

Students demonstrate time and time again that the Arts are essential for them to understand why disciplinary knowledge is necessary and to generate innovative solutions. In all their forms, the Arts act as catalysts, enabling students to realize the significance of their learning in the context of real-world problems and to design solutions for others. Ultimately, emphasizing the Arts in STEAM education most strongly aligns with the concept of transformative learning, which is based on extending students’ frames of reference (Mezirow, 2009). This transformative aspect is crucial for student engagement and empowerment, as it enables students to make sense of their learning in relation to their personal and sociocultural experiences.

In conclusion, students’ perceptions have shown that the integration of the Arts within STEAM education is not a mere expansion of STEM or something meant for the periphery, but a necessary evolution that reflects the interconnected nature of knowledge and learning in the 21st century. Recognizing the value of the Arts in cultivating the next generation of innovative thinkers and problem solvers is imperative. STEAM education, enriched with the Arts, prepares students to address complex problems, fostering a diverse, engaged, creative, and future-resilient society.

3.2. Empathy as a Driver to Engagement

Student perspectives across the various settings in which we have researched STEAM education have shown the importance of empathy as a driver of deep engagement with the learning experience. We define empathy in the same way that it is conceptualized in the first step of the Design Thinking framework (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, 2010) as a skill that allows students to understand and share the same feelings that others feel. In Design Thinking, this step is used to metaphorically step into another’s shoes and intentionally attempt to see the world from their vantage point. It calls on students to combat biases, preconceived notions, and assumptions, and instead examine another’s perspective and needs. Empathy is important for student designers because it allows for the uncovering and understanding of the needs and emotions of the people for whom they design. Interviews and/or observations are most often the tools with which students can begin to empathize because they enable students to directly listen to and see users in their own contexts. Through interviews and observations, students can learn firsthand about users’ needs, motivations, behaviors, and challenges, with the goal of helping them to devise and create solutions that can potentially help to improve their lives. While an important first step in designing thinking experiences, empathy can be used across the curriculum using other pedagogical frameworks as well (such as problem-based learning, project-based learning, phenomena-based learning, and other forms of inquiry-based teaching).

Our research examines the use of empathy in STEAM education; however, there is a wealth of research in psychology and neurology on the development of empathy that can inform classrooms and teachers. The literature shows that empathy is a multidimensional construct construed of both emotional aspects (such as shared affect and emotional responses) and cognitive aspects (such as perspective-taking, self and other distinction, reflection about other people’s mental states, and explicit self-assessment of one’s own emotions) (Decety & Jackson, 2004). In typical development, empathic abilities continue to be refined during adolescence and early adulthood. Importantly, empathy is something we develop over time and in relation to our social environment. Empathy improves across childhood, declines slightly in adolescence, matures in early adulthood, remains stable until late middle age, and then declines in later years (to a greater degree in males) (Dorris et al., 2022). Empathetic responses can be compromised in individuals with psychopathy or those who have experienced trauma. While we will not dive into the nuances in the literature on empathy in this paper, a greater understanding of how students understand and relate to others could enhance educational approaches to character and social development. What we will focus on, however, is what our research has shown regarding what students say about the experience of empathizing within STEAM inquiries.

In the various STEAM settings in which we have interviewed students about their experiences, students most often reference the ‘need to know’ context that propels them into integrating content to solve problems and seek solutions. These contexts are presented at the beginning of the inquiry and constantly referred to throughout as the anchor to instruction. Some examples are students deeply connecting and showing sustained engagement when designing a prosthetic for a kindergartner in the school, which compelled them to learn the science and mathematics needed to engineer a 3D prototype for the real-life student (Cook et al., 2015). In another STEAM inquiry, the students created the warmest coat by testing materials for thermal conductivity, or they designed solar lamps for children living in homes without electricity (Cook & Bush, 2018). The authors discussed the importance of incorporating empathy into STEAM education and provided recommendations for educators. In this article, we provide tips for teachers on building empathy such as making problems authentic, relatable to students’ lives, inclusive, and focused on a specific issue. We share examples like creating “bio cards” to humanize the people students are designing for (Cook & Bush, 2018). The goal is to position students as experts motivated by compassion that leads to action, rather than simply as receivers of information. Empathy is a critical skill for students to solve real-world problems and make the world better. STEAM that is centered around empathy enables students to connect academic subjects to their humanity. Students design solutions for others, which provides a vehicle through which we can foster empathy and bring purpose as to why the disciplines are needed to solve problems in our world.

In our research, students have consistently expressed their engagement in STEAM learning through their excitement at seeking solutions to help others. They value solving problems for others and evoke emotions describing their understanding of others’ viewpoints and how they might help them. When interviewed about their STEAM experiences, students will often discuss in detail the person or situation they are trying to help and only dive into the disciplinary content they are learning when prompted. We examined elementary school students’ perceptions of STEAM learning experiences (Authors). The purpose was to understand students’ perceptions through a qualitative analysis of survey responses from 262 students from grades 3–5 engaged in STEAM learning. One of the overarching themes among over 1500 responses was the way in which they described STEAM learning experiences building from fun activities to transformative learning experiences. Three codes were used to categorize students’ descriptions of their STEAM learning experiences: STEAM Activities; Authentic Problems; and Empathetic Problem-Solving. These represent a hierarchy from less to more meaningful/transformative experiences.

• STEAM Activities: involve fun, challenging activities but with no clear connection to science/math content or practices (as gleaned from coding that looked for connections to the NGSS Lead States (2013) standards for science or the Common Core State Standards (CCSSO, 2010) for mathematics). They do not align with standards-based learning and do not tend to transform students’ perceptions;
• Authentic Problems: connect learning to real-world contexts and specific science/math content and practices. They represent a more transformative learning experience as students’ frames of reference are extended regarding the content;
• Empathetic Problem-Solving: involves students feeling empathy and articulating a humanistic connection. These are relational learning experiences that transcend the specific disciplines and are highly transformative, as students’ frames of reference expand greatly through creative and purpose-driven solution seeking. This is the ideal for which to strive.

In STEAM experiences categorized as Empathetic Problem-Solving, students described what they were doing in STEAM by describing the problem they were trying to solve and for whom. They naturally wove in disciplinary content as they spoke about the creative solutions they generated on behalf of others. The hierarchy in STEAM experiences shows a progression from activity-focused learning to more meaningful, empathetic, and transformative learning experiences through authentic, real-world problem solving.

This work has helped to define high-leverage practices in STEAM education. The authors argue for re-centering STEAM education around the student perspective and experience. While many existing STEAM frameworks focus on the teacher lens in implementation, we use positioning theory to analyze how students are positioned in integrated STEAM learning. There are different types of STEAM integration on a continuum from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary to transdisciplinary; we propose a new conceptual framework that focuses on promoting student authority using empathy as a catalyst. Drawing from the work described above, the framework outlines three levels of STEAM inquiry: STEAM activities; authentic problems; and empathetic problem-solving. In STEAM activities designed by the teacher, students have little authority or ability to redefine their learning. In authentic problems, students can make more connections but the teacher still defines the integration. However, in empathetic problem-solving, students are positioned alongside the teacher and can renegotiate their rights and duties, allowing for transdisciplinary learning where students transcend subjects to generate creative solutions. The article argues that empathy gives students authority to use their frames of reference and author the experience.

The implication of this research is that we should further examine student positioning and discourse in STEAM to understand their experiences. The goal is to promote transformative learning where students use integrated STEAM inquiries to shift their worldviews. This requires centering students so that they can build knowledge and make sense of STEAM in relation to their lives. The framework provides guidance on achieving student-centered transdisciplinary STEAM learning by focusing on empathy and authority. We argue that STEAM should be taught through an interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach centered around empathy and meeting human needs. Empathy is crucial throughout the process to keep students focused on how their work will authentically help people.

3.3. Connected to Reform Efforts in Science and Mathematics Education

Our surveys of students (Bush et al., 2020) provided some interesting insights into how STEAM education can promote metacognition for students about their own learning. Students described how STEAM experiences led them to “think outside the box” and consider how their ideas could “grow and improve the world.” These responses from students suggest that STEAM experiences prompted them to reflect on their own thinking in new ways. One student indicated a metacognitive shift by saying that STEAM showed him “a whole new way to think of thinking.” These responses indicated that students perceived STEAM as facilitating an important change in their perceptions of learning, thinking, and the application of content. For example, students stated that they were better able to understand the application of mathematics and the context of scientific inquiry. In summary, our analysis of student responses suggests that STEAM instruction enabled important metacognitive shifts in students, prompting them to reflect on their thinking in transformative ways. This reflective self-discourse is a valuable outcome of STEAM education.

However, our work has also uncovered some areas of need in students’ understanding of the content connections embedded in STEAM—especially in the content connections with mathematics and science. Although students engage in the practices (i.e., building models, argumentation), they do not explicitly connect these practices to specific mathematics or science content knowledge (Bush et al., 2020) when asked about their experiences. This observation suggests that learning experiences in STEAM often focus more heavily on skills over concepts within STEAM projects—an area in which teachers can make more explicit connections and connect with classroom teachers to dive deeper into relevant content. This disconnect with the content of science and math learning in STEAM—in which students identify practices more readily than content connections—suggests the need for a more cohesive and explicit integration of the content and practices of the disciplines. In conclusion, as educators aim for multidisciplinary and even transdisciplinary learning environments, there is a need to support students’ identification and application of the content embedded in their inquiries. To address this, educators should focus on making explicit connections in their teaching and ensure a balanced emphasis on content and practices in their curricular materials.

4. Discussion and Conclusions: Recommendations to Educators Related to Empathy in STEAM

Student experiences within STEAM education, with an emphasis on the Arts, underscore the transformative power of integrating the Arts intentionally and thoughtfully. This integration not only enriches the learning environment by providing diverse access points for students but also fosters a holistic educational experience for students that transcends disciplinary boundaries. By valuing creativity, personal expression, divergent thinking, and empathy alongside scientific enquiry and mathematical reasoning, STEAM education cultivates a generation of students who are not only competent and proficient in technical skills, but who also have, and can use, the creativity and emotional intelligences necessary to address complex, nuanced, real-world problems. Our research demonstrates that inclusion of the Arts as a core component of STEAM champions a more inclusive and equitable approach, inviting more students to the learning table. Our findings across several studies affirm the essential role of the Arts; we advocate for curricula that celebrates preparing students to navigate the challenges of the future with self-confidence, confidence in content, creativity, and compassion.

Based on student perspectives about their STEAM experiences, we advocate for incorporating empathy into STEAM education to make learning more meaningful, equitable, and focused on improving society. Empathy helps students to see how STEAM can impact real-world issues and people’s lives. The benefits of empathy in STEAM include increased engagement and interest in STEM careers, and an increase in contextual understanding. Empathy can enhance well-known instructional approaches, such as design thinking, problem-based learning, and project-based learning, by making contexts more accessible, compelling students to find solutions, and enabling perspective-taking. Intentionally integrating empathetic storylines and experiences in STEAM shifts instruction from being teacher-directed to being student-driven. There are implications for teacher education such as providing preservice teachers with empathy-focused STEAM learning opportunities and helping in-service teachers develop humanistic, empathy-driven STEAM inquiries. Educators may explore the following to incorporate empathy in STEAM education: keeping problems as authentic as possible; developing problem statements that are relevant to students’ lived experiences; including each and every child in problem statements or contexts; revisiting empathy often; and focusing on taking a deep dive into one problem at a time and its potential solutions.

By building STEAM inquiries around the guiding principles of equity, empathy, and meaningful experiences, transformative learning opportunities can be achieved (Edelen et al., 2023). The exploration of the interaction of science and mathematics content within the framework of STEAM education highlights the potential and challenges of this pedagogical approach. While STEAM has effectively and consistently encouraged students to adopt metacognitive strategies and engage in self-identified transformative learning, there remains a lack of seamless integration of science and mathematics content. Our evidence suggests a need for more integrated curricula that fosters skills and deepens conceptual knowledge. To achieve the full potential of STEAM education—a promise that includes sparking innovation and excitement in thinkers who can bridge seemingly abstract concepts in math, science, and real-world applications—we must aim to create a learning environment where the disciplines of STEAM converge in a manner that is holistic, cohesive, and comprehensive.

Future Directions

In future research, the perspectives of students will be of the upmost importance for STEAM education researchers. Centering student perspectives and experiences is key to reaching our goals of transformative STEAM learning for all. This focus on the student experience has deepened our understanding of effective teaching strategies, curricular strength, policy advocacy, and how to enrich the student experience. We also note that additional in-depth research is needed on: (1) student positioning in STEAM, particularly exploring student discourse and how students position each other; (2) empathetic engagement with STEAM and how to reimagine education systems in ways that allow for the scale and prioritization of this type of learning; and (3) the longitudinal impact of STEAM education.

Our focus on empathy has aided our understanding and revealed implications beyond the classroom. STEAM can foster a culture of broad care, understanding, and action towards societal and global change. As we consider future studies in STEM education, we should additionally explore how empathy in STEAM learning might influence students’ motivation, creativity, and their ability to collaborate across cultural and disciplinary boundaries. A focus on implications beyond classroom-based learning might offer insights into how STEAM education can contribute to developing more informed members of society who are prepared and motivated to navigate complex challenges with a sense of care for others.

Finally, as we consider the insights revealed from our synthesis, we conclude with a recommendation for ourselves and others engaged in STEAM education research, which is to begin to focus on longitudinal studies that capture the impact of STEAM education, which we note is now more possible as STEAM initiatives are becoming more systematically rooted in K–5 schools and communities. Such longitudinal studies will not only assess the long-term impacts of STEAM education on their interests, student achievement, creativity, and engagement, but also on their career choices and successes in the workforce. Such research can provide insights and demonstrate the value of STEAM education to policymakers, educators, and the community at large, ensuring that STEAM initiatives are supported, refined, and expanded to meet the needs of all learners.