Editorial: Maker Education: Opportunities and Challenges

Maker Education: Opportunities and ChallengesThis robust collection of articles focuses on makers and maker educators in K-12, as well as makerspaces, maker programs and maker pedagogies both in and out of school in four different countries (Canada, Finland, Iceland and the United States).The eight research studies offer insights into several key themes in developing maker culture in a variety of settings through different research methodologies.Makerspaces and maker education have typically been associated with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects, where there has been an emphasis on the use of digital technologies (high, medium and low-tech) and engineering design processes to teach science, math and computational thinking.There is a consensus among the researchers who conducted these studies, however, that maker activities and maker pedagogies go well beyond the teaching and learning of subject content, to the development of a wide variety of global skills and competencies, including creativity, digital literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication.Makerspaces are also increasingly seen as spaces where makers can explore personal and cultural expression and reflection as a means of empowerment.In a mixed methods study on the impact of an Autism Inclusion Maker Program, Martin et al. found that students living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who typically struggled in "normal" school settings were successful in creating their design-based projects and communicating with their peers about their projects, once they were freed from the constraints of typical classroom instruction.The authors found that the opportunity to create something that represented their personal interests was beneficial for both neurodivergent and neurotypical students.In an ethnographic study in a Finnish makerspace, researchers Iwata et al., explored to what extent global competencies, such as ways of thinking, ways of working, tools for working and ways of living in the world, are recognized and developed by teachers (pedagogy experts) and makerspace facilitators (technology experts) in digital making activities.Their findings suggest that engaging students in complex tasks that require frequent use of computers, student-centered facilitation and ill-structured activities, might enhance the development of global competencies and computational thinking practices; however, challenges around deep understandings of computational thinking and restricted time frames for making were evident in the study.Four of the articles in this special issue shine a light on the role of teachers and facilitators in maker programs.US based researchers Bevan et al., explore how a research-practice partnership (RPP) might amplify the voices of informal educators leading afterschool maker programs related to science and suggest that these kinds of programs can complement school-based making by supporting student learning that is valued and relevant in school contexts. Bevan et al.Tinkering Design Framework, shared in their article, makes a significant contribution to the literature about making and tinkering, emphasizing the dialectical role that cultural tools and social contexts play in supporting the transformative agency of students.In Iceland, a seven-woman team of tech

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