Background: Children’s regular cultural experiences, everyday habits, and behaviour shape their mental habits and cultural minds. Therefore, to fully understand children’s cultural development, we need to understand the process of children’s learning and development. The current world requires skilled people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and we need to advocate STEM learning opportunities from the early years. Children consider play as serious work, and educators can create social conditions for creating play-based STEM learning experiences. However, many educators feel more comfortable teaching arts rather than STEM education in the early years. By integrating arts with STEM, thereby creating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning opportunities, educators can provide inclusive and engaging educational experiences for all children, regardless of their diverse cultural backgrounds and abilities, through play-based learning.

Aims: This paper explores how educators can create inclusive social conditions for the effective teaching of STEAM to all children through play-based learning.

Method: The cultural-historical research methodology was employed to conduct the study, utilising digital visual observation for data collection. This paper analysed 40-minute video data on toddlers’ risk play, selected from 50 hours of footage gathered at a regional childcare centre over seven weeks. The inclusive STEAM pedagogy framework (which combines the 4P phases model for STEAM learning, the triple ‘A’ framework for full inclusion, and a pedagogical strategy model for educators’ positioning, was used to analyse the visual data). Ethical approval for this study was obtained from CSU.

Results: The 4P phases model offers a clear guideline for educators’ selection of play activities, taking into account children’s interests, planning and play-based actions, and reflection to create social conditions conducive to implementing STEAM-based activities. All children’s active participation, regardless of their diversities and disabilities, was ensured during play. Lastly, educators’ positioning during play was crucial to teaching STEAM through play.

Conclusions: Inclusive STEAM pedagogy can ensure equity in teaching STEAM through play-based learning.

Implications for children and families: Every child can participate in a STEAM-based experience and achieve their learning goals. Parents and children can watch the video clip presented through this presentation to better understand STEAM learning.

Implications for practitioners: Educators can clearly comprehend guidelines for teaching STEM, including their preference for teaching Arts.

Funding: Charles Sturt University Internal Fund, Faculty of Arts and Education Research Establishment Grant.

Key words: play-based learning, STEAM education, inclusive learning, early years, educators’ choice, children’s interest

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals