Crochet: Engaging Secondary School Girls in Art for STEAM’s Sake
Portia York
Department of Art and Art History, York Creative Education Group and University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina
Shaoan Zhang
Professor of Teacher Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
Mei Yang
College of Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
Venkatesan Muthukumar
College of Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.
Abstract
Recent STEAM programs have made accomplishments in recruiting K-12 girl students to participate in STEAM activities. Educational researchers have called for studies of how STEM programs engage girls. However, little research has embedded STEM education with girl education such as their emotional needs, identity, and self-expression. This study examined how crochet that was embedded in a STEM summer camp impacted their sense of belonging, creativity, well-being, and STEAM learning. For this qualitative study, surveys were conducted with 37 student participants and Discord was used as part of the data sources. Findings indicated that crocheting enhanced students’ sense of belonging, creativity, well-being, as well as STEM learning. This study contributes to the STEM learning program design for girls in secondary schools with two closely related theories: constructivist learning environment theory and sense of belonging theory. This study added new knowledge to the research of crochet in girl education and STEM program design.
