ABSTRACT
The appearance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), STEM with the addition of the Arts (STEAM) or STEAM with the addition of Entrepreneurship in school curricula globally poses significant questions about the way in which science education contributes to the production of knowledge in society. This chapter discusses the extent to which such aims currently sit within science education, and makes the case for a new set of perspectives and practices in science education arising through STEAM education. It focuses on the concept of the ‘boundary object’ as a tool for eliciting alternative discourses on science education vis a vis society and the natural world Debating the theoretical frameworks underpinning the emergence of such hybrid curricular constructs entails a significant interrogation of the nature of the educational process itself, specifically which qualities of knowing and being younger people should develop in current times.
