STEM, Values, and the Re-enchantment of Education: Reflections on the Palette of Virtues Project

The Palette of Virtues project boldly reimagines STEM education by rejecting its value-neutral facade, rooted in Cartesian dualism and positivist traditions that foster alienating, competitive pedagogies. The project is enacted in early childhood educational settings through collaborative programming, storytelling, and artistic activities, in which children, teachers, and facilitators jointly engage with computational tools as part of shared, value-laden practice. Drawing on insights from anthropology, dialogical philosophy, and arts education, we propose that effective STEM reform requires a fundamental shift: moving education from transmission to co-construction, from individual mastery to collaborative and relational meaning-making, and from abstract neutrality to culturally grounded inquiry.Index Terms— Palette of Virtues project, STEM education, Cartesian dualism, relational knowledge.