Many countries face a sustainability paradox: while promoting sustainable lifestyles, their high quality of life remains heavily resource-intensive. Essential to solving these kinds of complex problems and adapting for future challenges, schools aim to equip students with 21st-century skills – collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. This also requires a shift towards interdisciplinary approaches that bridge theory and practice.

The STEAMKitchen project integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) with Home Economics to help schools to equip students with these skills. This presentation outlines the project’s aims and phases. The project aims to combine the humanistic and creative aspects of Home Economics with STEAM education to foster practical skills and theoretical knowledge essential for sustainable living. It supports schools in creating collaborative learning and creativity-enhancing learning environments, such as makerspaces, promoting hands-on learning and interdisciplinary collaboration. Additionally, we address gender disparities in STEM fields by designing activities that build students’ confidence in STEM fields and foster inclusive participation early in their educational journey.

The project employs a collaborative development approach involving teacher educators, in-service teachers, and teacher students. It progresses through three phases:
(1) creating a comprehensive guidebook to integrate STEAM into Home Economics and establish makerspaces,
(2) co-designing educational activities to foster creativity, hands-on learning, and gender inclusivity, and
(3) developing an e-course to enhance teacher-student competencies in interdisciplinary teaching for sustainable living.

The STEAMKitchen project represents a transformative approach to education by promoting sustainability, inclusivity, and interdisciplinarity. Its scalable methodologies offer a global model for preparing schools and students to meet future challenges.

Keywords: STEAM education, Home economics, interdisciplinary learning, sustainability.