STEAM teaching in preschool very topical

Anna Günther-Hanssen is a researcher and teacher at the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University, where she teaches future preschool teachers.

Her teaching and research involve, among other things, science, technology, mathematics, and gender in preschool. For almost four years now, she has been leading a research project on so-called STEAM teaching in preschool. STEAM combines the traditional STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) with the arts (dance, drama, music, visual arts). The project aims to investigate whether and how gender norms related to STEM and the Arts can be challenged already at the preschool level. A common argument behind STEAM teaching is that it should promote interdisciplinary, innovative thinking – something important for tackling major societal challenges, for example in relation to various sustainability issues.

- Research has shown that gender norms affect children's, students', and pupils' opportunities to participate in teaching within both STEM and the Arts – even in preschool, says Anna Günther Hanssen.