We (Yichien and Alice) deeply appreciate our publisher and editorial team, particularly John Bennet and Christine Hededam at Brill, who have provided us with clear guidance throughout the process of producing this collection. Its completion would have been impossible without the trust and support of Dr. Patricia Leavy, who invited Yichien to apply her expertise in arts integration to contribute to the Art Plus series at Brill. Thanks to her for her generosity in providing vital suggestions during the book proposal process. We are profoundly grateful for our amazing copyeditor Dr. Linda Meixner for her invaluable, meticulous, and plentiful comments, ensuring the stylistic features of this book. We are indebted to Dr. Debrah Sickler-Voigt for inviting us to present early content at the 2023 National Art Education Association convention and to the NAEA Higher Education Forum for the opportunity to share a snippet of the introductory chapter at the 2024 NAEA convention. We acknowledge the timely feedback of Dr. Enid Zimmerman, pointing out the main attractions of this book. Thanks to all our contributors from around the world for their patience and cooperation in making this anthology possible and most importantly for graciously working with us to share their insights on STEAM education despite linguistic and time-zone constraints.
Yichien is thankful for the opportunity to expand the meaning and practices of integrating the arts with support from Dr. Judith Morrison, academic director of the College of Education at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. In addition, she appreciates insightful conversations she had with her preservice teachers at WSUTC, workshop attendees around the world, and young students in local communities. She is grateful to her husband Matt and her children Emilie, Katherine, and Benjamin for their unflagging encouragement and dedicates this book to her parents.
Alice acknowledges the professional development funds provided by Empire State University, State University of New York, and the earnest support of Dr. Nicola Allain, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. She also extends her gratitude to her family, especially Dr. Eric Ball, for engaging in insightful and critical dialogue about ever-changing educational contexts in a global society.