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Eurasian Society of Educational Research
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Eurasian Society of Educational Research
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Christiaan Huygensstraat 44, Zipcode:7533XB, Enschede, THE NETHERLANDS
Research Article

Effect of STEAM Project-Based Learning on Engineering Students’ 21st Century Skills

Duong Thi Kim Oanh , Thi Dieu Hien Dang

STEM/STEAM education is an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that cultivates skills in science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), arts (A), an.


  • Pub. date: July 15, 2025
  • Online Pub. date: May 14, 2025
  • Pages: 705-721
  • 275 Downloads
  • 1189 Views
  • 0 Citations

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Abstract:

S

STEM/STEAM education is an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that cultivates skills in science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), arts (A), and mathematics (M) while also fostering 21st century skills like teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity in learners. Enhancing STEAM and 21st century skills for engineering students facilitates their swift adaptation to STEM/STEAM employment demands in the 4.0 industrial revolution and the ongoing digital transformation in Vietnam. This study aims to investigate the effect of STEAM project-based learning on the 21st century skills of 47 mechanical engineering technology students at a public university in Vietnam. The findings of a one-group pretest-posttest design and an analysis of engineering student groups’ STEAM project-based learning products revealed that there was a significant improvement in students' 21st century skills at a 95% confidence level. Among the three 21st century skills studied, engineering students’ collaboration skill showed a moderate effect size, while problem-solving and creative thinking skills demonstrated a large effect size after implementing STEAM project-based learning in the “Workplace Skills” course. Some significant limitations were identified, including (a) the lack of a comparison group, which may have influenced the difference between the pretest and posttest; and (b) the sustainability of 21st century skills developed through STEAM project-based learning in the “Workplace Skills” course was not investigated. Therefore, studying the effect of other factors on engineering students’ 21st century skills and exploring their sustainability were main recommendations for further research.

Keywords: STEAM, STEAM education, STEAM project-based learning, 21st century skills.

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