STEM in Fashion Design: The Roles of Creative Self-Efficacy and Epistemic Curiosity in Creative Performance

Abstract

Integrated learning of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) has become a challenge in the field of technical education. To understand the effect of STEM learning, in this study, we first identified the components of STEM in relation to bag design, then asked students to learn STEM knowledge as they designed bags. In this context, we explored how learners' creative self-efficacy (CSE) related to two types of epistemic curiosity (EC) (i.e., interest type and deprivation type) and reflected the STEM knowledge they acquired and their creative performance (i.e., novelty, utility, and aesthetics). The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling. The results revealed that CSE was positively related to two types of EC, and knowledge acquired was positively related to creative performance. The indirect correlates between CSE and knowledge acquired, EC and creative performance, and CSE and creative performance were positively mediated by other constructs. The implication of this research is that integrating STEM into the study of fashion design can improve students' creative performance.

A Systematic Review of Creative Self-Efficacy Literature in Education

“…Even though educational approaches that include creativity and innovation for meaningful learning, such as STEM, have a good impact on students' creativity (Hanif et al, 2019), in our literature search, only two CSE publications related to STEM education were found. The first study (Hong et al, 2019) investigated how learners acquire CSE related to two types of epistemic curiosity and how they reflect their knowledge and creativity to understand STEM learning. The second study (Broekhoven et al, 2020) explored the differences in creativity, as well as the extent and nature of these differences in the fields of art and science, STEM, and engineering.…”