Exploring Instructional Design, Occupational Interest, and Orientation Through Integrated STEM: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education reform movement has swept across the USA due to an urgent need for more workplace-ready STEM employees. As a result of the STEM education reform movement, there has been an increase in research studies concerned with STEM education and STEM career development in the past decade. The purpose of the study is to analyze the past 10 years’ worth of empirical research to explore the key instructional designs (e.g., inquiry-based, project-based, and problem-based teaching) that are used in STEM integration, as well as the impact on students’ occupational interests and development. The results of the study (1) outline the included studies’ characteristics, (2) summarize and synthesize themes across included studies, and (3) provide implications for future research in pursuit of advancing students’ STEM career development through instructional design. Findings show that substantial progress has been made in designing integrated, student-centred learning experiences that are rooted in real-world contexts. However, findings also illuminate areas of potential growth, such as research design, where employing diverse methods could further enhance our understanding of how using different instructional designs and principles of integrated STEM can positively impact student STEM career aspirations. © The Author(s) 2025.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Systematic literature review Instructional design STEM career development STEM integration

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Department of Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States

Funding & Acknowledgements

Purdue University, PU

Funding text 1: We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from AgSEED/Purdue University (Internal grant/No grant number). The funding body had no role in the design of the study, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript.; Funding text 2: There is an urgent need for increased science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers in the USA. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that STEM job openings in the USA will increase by 8% through 2029 (Zilberman & Ice, ). From PK-12 to post-secondary, STEM education is charged with and expected to nurture qualified STEM graduates to be workplace-ready. Despite the increased need for STEM employees, the USA is lagging behind other countries in performance in STEM subjects (Kelly et al., ). In addition, many STEM programs are inadequate to equip students with employability skills that employers require such as adaptability, flexibility, and critical thinking (Rayner & Papakonstantinous, ). Due to this identified lack of STEM skills among American students, the USA has begun to fund efforts to build the STEM career pipeline, such as the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant from the National Science Foundation.

National Science Foundation, NSF

Funding text 1: We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from AgSEED/Purdue University (Internal grant/No grant number). The funding body had no role in the design of the study, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript.; Funding text 2: There is an urgent need for increased science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workers in the USA. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that STEM job openings in the USA will increase by 8% through 2029 (Zilberman & Ice, ). From PK-12 to post-secondary, STEM education is charged with and expected to nurture qualified STEM graduates to be workplace-ready. Despite the increased need for STEM employees, the USA is lagging behind other countries in performance in STEM subjects (Kelly et al., ). In addition, many STEM programs are inadequate to equip students with employability skills that employers require such as adaptability, flexibility, and critical thinking (Rayner & Papakonstantinous, ). Due to this identified lack of STEM skills among American students, the USA has begun to fund efforts to build the STEM career pipeline, such as the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant from the National Science Foundation.

References 10 References

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Exploring Instructional Design, Occupational Interest, and Orientation Through Integrated STEM: A Systematic Literature Review

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