STEAM education, the interdisciplinary approach that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, has gained significant attention over the past three decades. This focus has centred around efforts to equip students with the skills necessary for the evolving job market. STEAM programs concentrate on fostering critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. However, a notable gap persists in their integration of values education, which is essential for motivating future graduates to engage with sustainability challenges (Taylor and Taylor, 2020). 

Socially responsible STEAM education emphasizes the ethical, social, and environmental implications of the STEAM fields to cultivate a sense of responsibility towards society and the environment. It can effectively engage students in critical consciousness and social action and promote social change. As highlighted by the UN (“Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals – United Nations Sustainable Development,” n.d.), environmental sustainability goals are interconnected with a range of social needs including education and healthcare access.  

Ethical dilemmas in STEAM education 

The Ethical Dilemma Story Pedagogy (EDSP) is a promising approach to fostering socially responsible STEAM education (Taylor and Taylor, 2020).  This pedagogy challenges students with a ‘disorienting ethical dilemma’ – a complex situation with no clear right or wrong answer. The teacher’s role is to facilitate the discussion without imposing their own beliefs, allowing students to critically engage with the dilemma.  

Sustainability decisions are deeply connected to a variety of ethical dilemmas as there is often the need to balance between environmental and economic growth, to consider equitable access to resources, and more. Students faced with a sustainable dilemma in the context of EDSP can reflect on sustainability issues directly affecting them and their communities, an approach that supports the development of critical thinking, collaboration, and decision-making skills. Studies (Meiliasari et al., 2024; Rahmawati et al., 2022, 2024) show that EDSP fosters deeper engagement with science, raises awareness of environmental issues, and helps students understand the relevance of sustainability in their daily lives. These experiences not only strengthen STEAM learning but also inspire students to consider sustainable solutions and actions within their communities. 

The mission of Math4Sustainability 

Math4Sustainability aims to impart knowledge, understanding and action towards environmentally sustainable practices through hands-on mathematical puzzles and socio-scientific dilemmas. Over the next two years our consortium will work hard to combine these topics in the most meaningful ways. We will consult environmental scientists, renewable energy professionals and sustainability policymakers to ensure that we select topics and dilemmas that connect to real life challenges in our target groups’ lives. Mathematicians and other STEAM educators will help us connect these topics to engaging mathematical puzzles designed to spark students’ interest in sustainability and STEAM career paths. 

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