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STEAM Education in Korea: Current Policies and Future Directions

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Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

Science and Technology Trends

Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education

STEAM Education in Korea:

Current Policies and Future Directions

Oksu Hong1

1. Introduction
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Mathematics) education policy since
in which artificial intelligence is continuously in announcing “The second basic plan to foster and
development and jobs evolve at a rapid pace, creative support human resources in science and technology
human resources are needed in order to create new (2011-2015),” which includes STEAM education
jobs and solve future problems. With changes (The Korean Ministry of Education, Science and
emerging in the economy, society, culture, and the Technology, 2011). As the most representative
ecological environment, education for future national institution for STEAM education, as well
generations must advance, as well. The World as science, mathematics, and software education,
Economic Forum (2016) presented the key skills the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of
required for the Fourth Industrial Revolution by Science and Creativity (KOFAC) has managed
2020, such as complex problem solving, critical systematic STEAM education programs at the
thinking, and creativity. While identifying the skills national level. To help STEAM education become
required for students to succeed in work, life, and more well established, KOFAC cultivates and
as citizens of the world, Partnership for 21st Century supports leading groups, reinforces teachers’
Skills (P21) focused on the 4Cs: Critical thinking, capabilities, develops and distributes content,
Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity promotes interactive and exploratory activities for
(http://www.p21.org). students, and institutionalizes and builds
The Korean government has continually driven infrastructure (see Figure 1).
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts,

Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity, 602 Seolleungno, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-847, Korea
E-mail:[email protected]

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 Science and Technology Trends

Figure 1. The structure of STEAM education programs managed by KOFAC

Source: Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, 2016 (p.45)

The Learning Standards Framework of STEAM an educational strategy for future generations. It is,
Classes has been developed so that it can be utilized therefore, meaningful to look into STEAM education
to design classes that meet the goals of STEAM policy put forward thus far and to propose the next
education. The framework consists of the following step based on what has already been established.
three steps: Context presentation, Creative design, In this report, an outline is presented on the current
and Emotional touch. A description for each step policy of STEAM education in Korea based on the
is given in Figure 2. It is recommended that STEAM three elements of education: the teacher who teaches,
classes be conducted based on this framework. the student who learns, and the educational content
Korea’s new national curriculum, ‘2015 Revised that mediates the teaching and learning (Shin, 2005),
Curriculum,’ aims to cultivate creative talents with future directions for STEAM education are then
integrative thinking and problem solving. STEAM suggested.
education will thus continue to be emphasized as

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Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

Figure 2. Learning standards framework of STEAM classes

Source: Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, 2016 (p.25)

2. STEAM Professional Development for the survey do not implement STEAM education,
Teachers it can be understood that approximately 27.1% of
all schools in the country have conducted STEAM
Teachers’ capabilities in practicing STEAM education classes (see Table 1). This research
education are of great importance. According to discovered that the most important factor in
research conducted to investigate the current status implementing STEAM education was the ‘voluntary
of STEAM education by analyzing online survey efforts of teachers,’ and the main reason for not
responses collected from 56.8% (N = 6,473) of implementing STEAM education was difficulties in
elementary, middle, and high schools in Korea, it drawing a consensus from teachers regarding
was found that 48.3% (N = 3,127) of the responding STEAM education. This result indicates that the role
schools conducted STEAM education (Park et al., of teachers is very important in the implementation
2016). Assuming that schools not participating in of STEAM education.

Table 1. The number of schools that implement STEAM education

no.(%)

School Total Responding Implementing Not Implementing Implementing

Level schools schools STEAM STEAM STEAM/Total
Elementary 5,978 3,362 (100.0) 1,838 (54.7) 1,524 (45.3) 1,838/5,978 (30.8)
Middle 3,204 1,831 (100.0) 879 (48.0) 952 (52.0) 879/3,204 (27.4)
High 2,344 1,280 (100.0) 410 (32.0) 870 (68.0) 410/2,344 (17.5)
Total 11,526 6,473 (100.0) 3,127 (48.3) 3,346 (51.7) 3,127/11,526 (27.1)
Source: Park et al., 2016

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 Science and Technology Trends

To support STEAM professional development for and Song (2016) categorized in-service training programs
teachers, three steps of teacher training programs are for STEAM education in Korea, including three steps
currently being operated. ‘Introductory training’ of teacher training programs, by adopting Ryn and
focuses on helping teachers understand the concepts, Cowan’s (1996) framework with two dimensions of
policies, and representative content of STEAM knowledge and learning (see Figure 3). Knowledge
education. ‘Basic Training’ involves a 15-hour online construction is separated into the individual level and
program centered on sharing best practices, such as the community level, while learning construction is
how to organize STEAM education suitable for the categorized as content-oriented and activity-oriented.
school curriculum or how to implement STEAM This research asserted that teacher training programs
education for after-school programs. ‘Intensive for STEAM education should focus on designing a
Training,’ a mixture of online and offline programs, learning community that is activity-oriented at the
has the purpose of improving teachers’ capabilities community level (top right plane of Figure 3) to foster
to develop and implement their own educational sustainable professional development.
materials for STEAM classes. The 60-hour training Considering this assertion, STEAM research
program includes fieldwork, as participants attend the groups of teachers, made up of experienced teachers
Teacher Training Center for Cutting-edge Science and and experts in relevant fields, work together to
STEAM fairs, as well as group activities in developing develop and apply STEAM educational materials,
classroom-applicable STEAM educational materials. serving as a good model for sustaining STEAM
In spite of these great efforts made to train STEAM professional development. Furthermore, according
teachers, many teachers have difficulty in selecting to the report surveying teachers’ needs for STEAM
appropriate topics, integrating two or more subjects, education, what STEAM teachers reported most often
developing educational materials, and evaluating classes was the need for support for teacher communities
(Noh & Paik, 2014; Lee & Shin, 2014). Jho, Hong, in terms of learning and research (KOFAC, 2013).

Figure 3. Mapping in-service training programs of STEAM education in Korea

Source: Jho, Hong, & Song, 2016

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Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

3. Improving Students’ Science Preferences, students who experienced STEAM classes also
Self-directed Learning, and Creative and showed higher levels in terms of ‘Ability to perform
Integrative Thinking Abilities self-directed learning,’ composed of Ability to lead
learning, Cognitive strategy, Learning motivation,
STEAM education began with the expectation that Will to solve problems, Use of tools, and Ability
it could solve some of the problems associated with to cooperate. Students learning through STEAM
students’ studies in science and mathematics. classes also showed a higher level of creative and
According to international evaluation programs, such integrative thinking ability.
as TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and What are the characteristics of STEAM education
Science Study) and PISA (Program for International that have brought about positive changes for
Student Assessment), Korean students demonstrated students? According to the results of a survey of
high performance but very low interest in the subjects 19,147 elementary, middle, and high school
of science and mathematics. In addition, the lessons students participating in STEAM education, the
and evaluations, which focused on concepts and most crucial characteristic of a STEAM class that
knowledge relating to science and mathematics, led differentiates it from existing classes was “a lot
to decreased interest for learners. of group activities to work with friends” (Kang
According to a study on the effects of STEAM et al., 2016). Many students also identified “to
education, conducted by KOFAC (2013), students learn by connecting various subjects, such as
who participated in STEAM classes showed higher mathematics, science, and technology” as another
‘science preference’ than students who did not important feature of STEAM education. In addition,
participate. This trend has been revealed in all detailed there were opinions presented on STEAM education’s
areas: Curiosity in science, Interest in science features that encourage students to think and learn
learning, Embracing the values of science, Belief on their own, lead learners’ active learning through
in learning science, Will to perform science-related student-centered activities, and link learning content
tasks, and Wish to pursue a career in science. The with real life.

Figure 4. Effects of STEAM classes

Source: KOFAC, 2014

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Figure 5. Students’ thoughts on the characteristics of STEAM education

Source: Kang et al., 2016

In order to continue these positive changes for experiences related to research field careers and
learners through STEAM education, policies to collaborative research activities carried out with
promote interactive and exploratory activities for friends (Choi & Park, 2015).
students are being implemented, such as STEAM STEAM outreach programs aim to help students
Research and Education (R&E) and STEAM plan science-related careers by giving opportunities
outreach programs. to experience the latest in science and technology
STEAM R&E aims to enhance students’ research available at actual industrial and research sites. Since
capabilities and encourage an atmosphere of 2013, about ten universities, government-funded
autonomous inquiry by supporting student-led research institutes, and companies have been selected
research activities on integration-based themes. as STEAM outreach operating organizations on an
Students who organize a team to participate in annual basis. They have developed and implemented
STEAM R&E come up with their own problems STEAM education programs that meet the
in daily life, define research problems, design characteristics of the organization by utilizing their
research methods, and then submit their research infrastructures for students across the country.
proposals. Research projects are selected for funding Overall, STEAM outreach programs have shown
through expert reviews, and the results are published a high level of student interest and satisfaction, and
at R&E festivals. According to research exploring they have also displayed a positive impact on
the effects of STEAM R&E, conducted by Mun students’ desires to pursue careers related to science
et al. (2017), students’ creative leader competencies, (Kang et al., 2016).
consisting of cognitive, affective, and societal
domains, improved after participating in STEAM
R&E. In addition, R&E has a positive impact on
students’ creative thinking by providing students with

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Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

4. STEAM Education Content that and Evaluation of STEAM education. In order to

Brings Positive Change apply STEAM classes that satisfy the checklist,
despite the already organized schedules based on
According to the analysis of 821 STEM/STEAM each subject, three types of curriculum activity can
related research papers published in Korea over the be applied: Subject curriculum activity connecting
last ten years (Kim & Kim, 2017), the most frequently the factors of S, T, E, A, and M with a main subject;
researched topic was ‘program/instructional materials,’ Creative curriculum activity connecting multiple
which accounted for 72% of the total. Furthermore, subjects for a main theme; and Extra-curriculum
‘program’ and ‘development’ were the keywords that activity reconstructing the curriculum or developing
emerged most often. This shows that studies in the a separate program for a main theme. Among these,
field of STEAM education have been focused on the an example of ‘Subject curriculum activity’ can be
development of diverse educational materials and found in Table 3.
programs that promote the practice of STEAM Some studies analyzing STEAM programs and
education. educational materials have pointed out that the degree
The Korean Ministry of Education and KOFAC of integration was limited. According to the results
are continuing to develop four types of STEAM of analyzing STEAM educational materials
programs to be used in schools: Integration-based developed by STEAM leading groups, such as leader
programs for each theme of STEAM (e.g., schools and research groups of teachers, based on
biotechnology, global environment, and appropriate the linking frequency of each of S, T, E, A, and
technology), Programs to utilize up-to-date products M in elementary educational materials, linkages
(e.g., up-to-date ICT, up-to-date medical appliances, between science (S) and arts (A) have been frequent,
and up-to-date vehicles), Integration-based programs while technology (T) and engineering (E) are not
in science and art (e.g., topographical maps in science frequently connected with other fields (Ahn & Kwon,
and art, creative activities in manufacturing, and 2013). For secondary educational materials, the
world-changing designs), and Design-based programs frequency of linkages between technology and
connected to promising future jobs (e.g., cognitive engineering was higher than for elementary materials.
engineers, robot engineers, and information systems According to the research analyzing 821 theses
professionals). In addition, STEAM research groups and articles on STEAM education published in
of teachers, in which teachers and experts work Korea, research on science (S) accounted for the
together, have continuously developed a variety of highest percentage (27%) when the core subject
high-quality teaching materials. STEAM educational covered by the research included a single subject,
materials and programs developed through these and research dealing with science (S) and arts (A)
processes are uploaded to the STEAM homepage together accounted for the highest percentage (2.6%)
(http://steam.kofac.re.kr) and can be freely accessed when the core subject covered by the research was
by anyone. an integrative type. Although STEAM education
Table 2 shows a checklist that can be used in emphasizes Creative Design as an element of the
designing a STEAM class. It consists of the following learning standards framework for STEAM classes,
four categories: Purpose of STEAM education, technology (T) and engineering (E) were not
Concept of STEAM education, Learning standards emphasized in both academic research and
framework for STEAM classes (i.e., Context educational program development.
presentation, Creative design, and Emotional touch),

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 Science and Technology Trends

Table 2. STEAM class checklist

Category Element Details
Purpose of Nurturing Talents for Is the class appropriate for the purpose of nurturing talents for
STEAM Education Integration integration?
Increasing Students’ Is the class designed to increase the students’ interest in scientific
Interest technology?
Connection to the
Concept of In the theme related to scientific technology in the real world?
Real World
STEAM Education
Cultivation of
Is the program designed to cultivate the integrated thinking
Integrated Thinking
abilities of students?
Abilities
Connections to the Does the class present problematic situations for student to solve
Context Real World in the real world?
Presentation Interest and Is it a specific situation that can arouse the interest of students
Immersion and appropriate for their level?
Is the process of creative design clearly revealed for the students
Creativity
to think about how they will solve the problem?
Is the class made up of activities focusing on play and experiences,
Focusing on
and is there a process for the students to personally devise and
Students
Creative think about the issues at hand?
Learning
Standards Design
Results Is the class designed for various results (or ideas) to be presented
Framework
(Ideas) by each students (or group) as a result of creative design?
of STEAM
Classes
Is the class designed for students to solve problems using devices
Use of Tools
from the real world?

Are the contents presented in the context presentation step for

Solving Problems
students to feel the joys of success in solving a problem?
Emotional
Learning through Is the class designed for students to solve problems through
Touch
Cooperation cooperation in coming up with their results?
Is the class guided for students to challenge new tasks through
Sprit of Challenge
the process of solving problems?
Is it made to evaluate the experience of success for students
having solved the problem?

Evaluation of STEAM Are various results (ideas) analyzed in the evaluation of students?
Detailed Perspective
Education
Is the aim to conduct not a results-focused evaluation but rather
an evaluation focusing on the process and its steps?

Source: Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, 2016 (pp.33-34)

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Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

Table 3. Example of Subject Curriculum Activity of STEAM Education from Teacher’s Guide

Source: Ministry of Education (2014), Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, 2016 (pp.33-34)

5. Suggestions for Future Directions of Collaboratory’ programs that develop curriculum,

STEAM Education technology, and after-school programs through the
cooperation of researchers and teachers, from the point
In the previous chapters, I presented the current policy of view that STEM education research should be
of STEAM education in Korea based on the three promoted through the active participation of teachers
elements of education: the teacher, the student, and (http://collaboratory.mspnet.org). In order to strengthen
the educational content. Based on this, I would like the capabilities of STEAM teachers, it is necessary
to briefly suggest potential future directions for STEAM to construct research and learning communities beyond
education. individual-level training programs (Jho, Hong, & Song,
Firstly, for teachers, systematic educational 2016). The ‘STEAM bridge center’ model for
opportunities should be provided so that teachers can collaborative research between researchers and teachers
bridge the gap between education and our changing will contribute to the improvement of teacher capabilities
world. For this, it is suggested to develop a model and can also be used as an effective method for the
for (and implement) a ‘STEAM bridge center’ (Cho development of qualified STEAM educational content.
et al., 2017) in which academic and industry experts Secondly, for students, more experience in
and experienced teachers can work together to develop participating in social problem-solving projects should
educational materials, teach students, and collect and be provided so that they can highlight social problems
analyze data on students. The National Science and solve them through STEAM education. These
Foundation (NSF) supported ‘Research + Practice experiences help students to grow as democratic citizens

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 Science and Technology Trends

who participate and practice, and to grow as leaders ‘STEM+Computing Partnerships (STEM+C)’
who solve diverse problems caused by rapid changes programs that integrate computing with one or more
in industry. Furthermore, until now, STEAM STEM disciplines, or integrate STEM into
education has been mainly implemented in primary computing education (NSF, 2017). In 2017, in a
and secondary education, but it should be extended similar vein, KOFAC published a series of
to university education. Recently, the Japanese educational books titled ‘Problem-Solving Activities
government announced the ‘Articulation Reforms for Computational Thinkers’ to provide various
of High Schools and Universities (ARHSUS)’ in STEAM activities based on computational thinking
order to transform high school and university with topics related to cutting-edge technologies (e.g.,
education into something more adequate for future Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Cars, Virtual
inhabitants of our society (Anzai, 2017). Since 2011, Reality, Space Launch Vehicles, Natural Disasters,
STEAM education aiming to transform the and Sports Statistics). It is believed that computational
curriculum to prepare students for the future society thinking is a very important keyword in presenting
has brought positive changes to primary and the future directions of STEAM education.
secondary school classes. If STEAM education is Finally, teachers, students, and educational
implemented in universities, realistic projects content are all important elements in understanding
dealing with problems in real industries and STEAM education, but an integrated approach –
communities will be pursued based on the ideas rather than an individual approach – must be taken
of university students, and student-led Research and in order to understand and properly analyze STEAM
Solution Development (R & SD) for solving social classes. According to Kim & Kim (2017), ‘creativity’
problems will be realized. Furthermore, STEAM was the most frequently presented keyword as a
education in universities will help students develop dependent variable in the study of the effectiveness
the problem-solving, collaborative, and creative of STEAM education. Creativity is highlighted time
talents required for future jobs and careers. and again as a key skill required for future
Thirdly, for educational content, the degree of generations. Recently, in Korea, there has been much
integration should be expanded so that STEAM discussion regarding collective creativity at the
classes can reveal students’ creativity by naturally group level, along with an attempt to conceptualize
linking various subjects or disciplines – as was the and analyze ‘classroom creativity’ that integrally
original purpose. More attention should be given considers students, teachers, environment,
to technology (T) and engineering (E), which have engagement, and creative behavior (Hong, 2016). As
not been emphasized in current STEAM educational a representative future education policy in Korea,
materials, despite their importance in the Creative STEAM education make students actively participate
Design process. Furthermore, it is necessary to place and communicate with others in order for creativity
additional emphasis on computational thinking, an to be naturally revealed in the process. Therefore,
approach to solve problems efficiently by integrating in order to design the next step of STEAM education
human ability and computing power, in STEAM policy, it is necessary to holistically understand and
education, as many problems emerging with our analyze STEAM classes that enhance the active
future society will be difficult to solve without the interaction between teachers, students, and
help of computing devices. The NSF has supported educational content.

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 Policy Trajectories and Initiatives in STEM Education / Korea

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