Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Road-STEAMer (Developing a STEAM Roadmap for Science Education in Horizon Europe)
Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-08-31
Road-STEAMer had the ambitious objective to deliver a STEAM Roadmap for science education in Horizon Europe (in short, the Roadmap), i.e. a plan of actions to provide guidance to EU's key funding programme for research and innovation on how to encourage more interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through the use of artistic approaches involving creative thinking and applied arts (the "A" in "STEAM") by triangulating the knowledge gained through stakeholder engagement, the analysis of STEAM practices, and the analysis of current educational policies, contexts and frameworks. The work of the project was grounded in the following approaches:
• Collaboration and co-creation with stakeholders through intensive exchange, dialogue and mutual learning processes which will produce better knowledge and shared understandings of the relevant opportunities, challenges and needs;
• A bottom-up approach emphasising educational practice and practitioners' agency rather than high-level conceptualisations of STEAM and generic top-down plans or vague intention statements for its adoption in science education;
• A specific focus on ways to leverage the power of STEAM approaches, as manifested through exemplary cases and best practices, in order to enable a bridging of open science and open schooling mentalities and practices which can catalyse an increased impact for science education as a crucial tool for addressing Europe’s current scientific and societal challenges.
The work of Road-STEAMer notably included the definition of a novel framework for STEAM education that goes beyond the initial idea of "STEM plus the A" and the arts as instrumental to create interest in STEM, towards a more holistic approach that breaks disciplinary silos. The project Roadmap and other key results are available on the project website (www.road-steamer.edu) and on the dedicated page on the Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/communities/road-steamer/records(opens in new window)
Road-STEAMer was a 3-year (September 2022 – August 2025) Coordination and Support Action (CSA) of the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Union (EU) (Project number: 101058405; Call Topic: HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-70).
• Collaboration and co-creation with stakeholders through intensive exchange, dialogue and mutual learning processes which will produce better knowledge and shared understandings of the relevant opportunities, challenges and needs;
• A bottom-up approach emphasising educational practice and practitioners' agency rather than high-level conceptualisations of STEAM and generic top-down plans or vague intention statements for its adoption in science education;
• A specific focus on ways to leverage the power of STEAM approaches, as manifested through exemplary cases and best practices, in order to enable a bridging of open science and open schooling mentalities and practices which can catalyse an increased impact for science education as a crucial tool for addressing Europe’s current scientific and societal challenges.
The work of Road-STEAMer notably included the definition of a novel framework for STEAM education that goes beyond the initial idea of "STEM plus the A" and the arts as instrumental to create interest in STEM, towards a more holistic approach that breaks disciplinary silos. The project Roadmap and other key results are available on the project website (www.road-steamer.edu) and on the dedicated page on the Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/communities/road-steamer/records(opens in new window)
Road-STEAMer was a 3-year (September 2022 – August 2025) Coordination and Support Action (CSA) of the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Union (EU) (Project number: 101058405; Call Topic: HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-70).
Road-STEAMer has successfully achieved its results thanks to close collaboration of all partners involved.
WP1- Coordination and support for dialogue and mutual learning has established the underlying support structure to engage stakeholders that contributed to all project activities.
WP2 - STEAM context, concepts and conditions: building on the conceptual foundations established in RP1, WP2 has concluded the analysis of conditions and requirements for successful STEAM practices. Two journal articles and various conference presentations have resulted from the work of WP2.
WP3 - Analysis of STEAM policy gaps and needs has completed the policy analysis has led to a comprehensive understanding of the policy context, which in turn enabled the development of policy recommendations. Beside the deliverables, two journal articles have been published based on WP3 work.
WP4 - The landscape of STEAM practices - WP4, has focused on mapping and analysing the European landscape of STEAM practices, with the aim of developing a coherent analytical tool and generating in-depth insights to support the Road-STEAMer roadmap. Its key output are the mapping of STEAM practices and the framework for STEAM education which resulted in a journal article.
WP5 - Synthesis of the STEAM roadmap for Science Education in Horizon Europe has successfully managed to merge the different strands of the project, and develop an innovative policy roadmapping method involving co-creation with stakeholders. The final version of Roadmap , complete with its interactive visualisation, is the core outcome of the project. Several publications have resulted from the work of WP5.
WP6- Dissemination and Exploitation - beyond strictly speaking communication and dissemination, WP6 has supported the development exploitation plans. Its main output is the Road-STEAMer toolbox, which thanks to its Navigator provides easy access to key project resources.
WP 7 - Management has ensured a smooth running of the project in a collaborative environment. Its key outputs are the three policy briefs.
WP1- Coordination and support for dialogue and mutual learning has established the underlying support structure to engage stakeholders that contributed to all project activities.
WP2 - STEAM context, concepts and conditions: building on the conceptual foundations established in RP1, WP2 has concluded the analysis of conditions and requirements for successful STEAM practices. Two journal articles and various conference presentations have resulted from the work of WP2.
WP3 - Analysis of STEAM policy gaps and needs has completed the policy analysis has led to a comprehensive understanding of the policy context, which in turn enabled the development of policy recommendations. Beside the deliverables, two journal articles have been published based on WP3 work.
WP4 - The landscape of STEAM practices - WP4, has focused on mapping and analysing the European landscape of STEAM practices, with the aim of developing a coherent analytical tool and generating in-depth insights to support the Road-STEAMer roadmap. Its key output are the mapping of STEAM practices and the framework for STEAM education which resulted in a journal article.
WP5 - Synthesis of the STEAM roadmap for Science Education in Horizon Europe has successfully managed to merge the different strands of the project, and develop an innovative policy roadmapping method involving co-creation with stakeholders. The final version of Roadmap , complete with its interactive visualisation, is the core outcome of the project. Several publications have resulted from the work of WP5.
WP6- Dissemination and Exploitation - beyond strictly speaking communication and dissemination, WP6 has supported the development exploitation plans. Its main output is the Road-STEAMer toolbox, which thanks to its Navigator provides easy access to key project resources.
WP 7 - Management has ensured a smooth running of the project in a collaborative environment. Its key outputs are the three policy briefs.
Road-STEAMer has successfully developed a novel classification and conceptual framework for STEAM education, contributing to advancing this field of study.
The Roadmap includes about 30 recommended actions to be considered by the EU institutions, and which - if funded and supported by regulatory change - can help significantly improve educational systems across the continent, with particular attention to equity and inclusion (gender, disability/neurodivergence, socio-economic background). In particular, the suggestion to create a Mission Education alongside other EU Missions has a great potential to bring change to the education landscape. Furthermore, other policy recommendations and policy briefs further articulate some of the change required at different levels (EU, National, local)
The Roadmap includes about 30 recommended actions to be considered by the EU institutions, and which - if funded and supported by regulatory change - can help significantly improve educational systems across the continent, with particular attention to equity and inclusion (gender, disability/neurodivergence, socio-economic background). In particular, the suggestion to create a Mission Education alongside other EU Missions has a great potential to bring change to the education landscape. Furthermore, other policy recommendations and policy briefs further articulate some of the change required at different levels (EU, National, local)