Playful and frugal learning design: A value-based approach to inclusive and sustainable STEM education

This study investigates how playful and frugal values can be integrated to support inclusive and sustainable STEM learning in resource-constrained and culturally diverse contexts. Drawing on educator-designed educational materials from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam participating in the ACES ( A C ommunity-Centred E ducational Model for Developing S ocial Resilience ) cross-national design challenge, the research explores how educators embedded value-based design in learning activities that were contextually relevant and culturally responsive. The submitted designs demonstrated diverse, localised approaches using everyday materials, cultural knowledge, and creative pedagogical strategies. The study analysed 25 design submissions to the ACES Challenge from educators (aged 18+) in Indonesia (n = 10), Malaysia (n = 9), and Vietnam (n = 6). Only educators contributed as research participants via activity designs and reflections; any learner involvement occurred independently within schools and was beyond the study's scope. The analysis focused on educators' design rationales and value-led reflections, alongside experts' assessments of playfulness, frugality, and perceived learning potential, referring to the anticipated educational value of each activity, ensuring alignment with the approved ethical framework. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analysed how playful and frugal values were embedded in these submissions. Quantitative analysis examined correlations between the two value dimensions across educator-designed activities using a framework-informed rubric. In parallel, qualitative thematic analysis of reflective narratives and submitted materials explored how values were interpreted and applied in practice. This triangulation enabled a deeper understanding of value-led design processes across culturally and materially diverse contexts. Findings suggest that playful and frugal values are conceptually compatible and can be operationalised to foster student engagement, creativity, and accessibility. Educators leveraged local assets and co-created learning experiences perceived as engaging and sustainable. However, challenges emerged in applying these values consistently across contexts, particularly in balancing playfulness with curricular demands and material constraints. Variation in expert evaluations also highlighted the difficulty of assessing pedagogies that resist standardisation and emphasise exploratory or affective outcomes. These insights underscore the need for more nuanced evaluation frameworks, clearer design guidance, and sustained professional and institutional support. While student learning outcomes were not directly measured, the study offers a novel replicable framework for value-led playful and frugal educational design. It contributes to global discussions on inclusive and sustainable pedagogy by demonstrating how playful and frugal design logics can inform ethical, adaptive, and creative learning, especially in communities where resources are limited but ingenuity and resilience are abundant.