The Effects of Integrated STEM Education on K12 Students’ Achievements: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis synthesizes research findings on the effects of integrated STEM education implemented in K12 settings. The implementation fell into three categories: (1) adopting integrated STEM education, (2) using extra teaching and learning strategies to enhance integrated STEM education, and (3) using specific learning technologies to support integrated STEM education. Student learning outcomes were investigated in terms of knowledge and skills acquisition, problem-solving task performance, and student perceptions. Based on 124 extracted and coded studies (2010–2022), the findings are as follows. All three types of interventions yielded a medium effect on knowledge acquisition and a small effect on student perceptions. Besides, adopting integrated STEM education had a large effect on cognitive skills; using extra teaching and learning strategies in integrated STEM programs produced a medium effect on cognitive skills and problem-solving task performance; using specific learning technologies had a small effect on problem-solving task performance. Some factors, such as task type (inquiry or design-based task) and program duration, may influence STEM learning outcomes. Future studies should pay more attention to the effective design and implementation of STEM programs by integrating the four core characteristics of STEM education, applying extra teaching and learning strategies, incorporating relevant learning technologies, and assessing learning outcomes in multiple dimensions.