STEAM Arts Integration and Gender Equity in University STEM Careers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/asce.v5i2.911Keywords:
gender gap; higher education; science education; gender equity; curriculum integration.Abstract
To examine the available evidence on the potential of arts integration, under the STEAM approach, as a pedagogical strategy for reducing gender inequalities in university STEM education in Ecuador. Asystematic documentary review was conducted using a mixed approach, an inductive method, and a non-experimental design following the PRISMA 2020 protocol; Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and SciELO databases were consulted, along with reports from national and international organizations; forty-two documents from the 2018-2025 period were examined through thematic analysis. Although Ecuador achieved parity in overall higher education enrollment (53 % of women), marked horizontal segregation persists in STEM fields, with only 32 % female participation in engineering; the literature provides consistent evidence of favorable effects of STEAM approaches on motivation, sense of belonging, and retention of women. Curricular arts integration constitutes a promising strategy for fostering gender equity in STEM, although further empirical research in the Ecuadorian context is needed.
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