Topic: The physical and mental health benefits of physical activity (PA) are widely acknowledged, including improvements in mental health and well-being, self-esteem, self-efficacy, physical self-worth, body image satisfaction, resilience, social support, social connection, physical health, as well as reductions in pain and fatigue (White, et al., 2024). Research also demonstrates a direct association between physical activity and academic performance (McPherson, 2018; Singh et al., 2019),  and incorporates regular physical activity into the school curriculum to enhance students' cognitive abilities and academic outcomes (Singh et al., 2019).

Objective: This systematic review explores trends, best practices, and gaps in the literature regarding the inclusion of PA within STEAM education, focusing on its potential to enhance learning outcomes and well-being.

Research Questions: The overarching question is: How can physical activities (PA) and physical education (PE) be effectively integrated into STEAM education to enhance student learning outcomes, mental and physical health across the K12 level?

The review would explore areas on geographical regions, academic subjects, age group, teaching methods, intervention types, learning outcomes, educators’ role, resources requirements, and other contextual factors in relation to integration of PA into STEAM education.

Literature Review: Despite the well-documented benefits of physical activity for both health and academic performance, many children fail to meet recommended activity levels. Low levels of physical activity in youth is a growing global concern, with significant implications for children's health and development. Recommendation for children and adolescents is to engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily to support physical, mental, and social well-being (WHO, 2020, CDC, 2024). This highlights the critical role of schools in addressing the global concern of physical inactivity among youth by ensuring adequate time and resources are dedicated to Physical Education (P.E.) programs, as the P.E. in school is the only sure opportunity for every school-age child to access health enhancing physical activities. It is estimated that for over 80% of children, P.E. is their only physical activity during the day (EC, 2015). Despite being mandatory across all European countries. Relative share of time allocated to P.E. is around 9-10% but some countries have even less than 5%, even in primary education. The majority of countries dedicate an even smaller share of time in secondary education to P.E.(EACEA/Eurydice, 2013). At the same time recognizing the demands of the modern world, education systems are emphasizing the need for STEM education as it is crucial for preparing students for future careers, as it fosters critical thinking, creativity, and interdisciplinary skills essential for success in an increasingly technology-driven and innovative workforce.

Although numerous scientific studies and educational best practices integrate mathematics, science subjects, and physical activities to support students in active learning—helping them grasp abstract concepts and understand the science behind sports—there is currently no systematic review that thoroughly examines the existing research and its development in this area.

The study follows the PRISMA 2020 guidelines to ensure methodological rigor and transparency. A comprehensive search of Web of Science, SportDiscus. and supplementary sources identified the relevant studies published since 2001, focusing on integrating PA into STEAM subjects within primary and secondary school settings. After a multi-phase screening process involving four researchers, the studies included met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Inclusion criteria emphasized studies with empirical data, peer-reviewed articles, and those examining PA integration into at least one STEAM domain. Focusing on the aims of the review and research questions, the research team identified the keywords for the online databases. The search keywords included “STEM”, “STEAM”, “science”, “engineering”, “technology”, “mathematics”, “natural science”, “physical education”, “physical activity”, “sports”, “integration”, “multi-disciplinary”, “trans-disciplinary”, “cross-disciplinary”,” education”, “teaching”, and “learning”. Two Boolean operators were used to combine the STEM/STEAM subjects with the physical activities when running the search. The query was entered as topic search (TS) on WoS as follows: TS=( science OR engineering OR technology OR math* OR STEM OR STEAM OR art OR “natural science”) AND TS=(physical education OR PE OR “P.E.” OR “physical activity” OR “P.A.” OR PA OR sports) AND TS=(integrat* OR multi-disciplinary OR multidisciplinary OR interdisciplinary OR cross-disciplinary OR crossdisciplinary OR transdisciplinary OR trans-disciplinary OR “embodied learning”) AND TS=(education OR teaching OR learning or instruction) AND TS=(“primary school” or “elementary school” or “secondary school” or “high school” or “K12” or “K-12” or “K 12”). The search is refined by document types “Article”, and language “English”.

Preliminary findings highlight that the integration of PA in STEAM education may yield more positive outcomes in lower grades, with interventions such as physical breaks, movement-based learning activities, and embodied learning strategies appear to be especially beneficial in these contexts. The use of technology in PA lessons was more prevalent in facilitating physical engagement rather than enhancing technological literacy. Practices observed Effective practices were identified in both classroom and outdoor were strengthened by clear guidelines and collaboration settings, with clear guidelines and collaborative efforts between physical education (PE) and classroom teachers. The review also uncovered gaps in the research, such as a lack of studies examining the long-term impacts of PA-integrated STEAM education and a limited focus on diverse student populations. Findings underscore the importance of tailored interventions that address the specific needs of different age groups, subjects, and learning environments. This review contributes to the growing body of knowledge on interdisciplinary education by synthesizing evidence-based approaches to integrating PA and PE within STEAM frameworks. It highlights the potential for such integration to foster academic and cognitive skills, and also physical and mental well-being, offering actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers. The findings advocate for a holistic approach to education that harmonizes the demands of modern STEM-driven curricula with the essential role of physical health and activity in student development.

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