Abstract:

This study examined teacher beliefs regarding STEAM-focused education held by grade 6-12 teachers in a large metropolitan region of the northeast of the USA. The study explored how teachers’ thoughts, ideas, and perceptions about school climate, 21st-century learning, and creativity impact and relate to their beliefs about STEAM-focused education. Further, the study looked at teacher beliefs about their school climates and their understanding of relationships between climate, creativity and STEAM-focused education. The overarching research question is: What do STEAM-focused education teachers as well as science, technology, engineering, math, and art educators believe about STEAM-focused education for students in Grades 6 through 12? In the context of a district having adopted multiple STEAM-focused initiatives, the study addressed four specific questions. Two multiple regression analyses were used to determine relationships between the dependent variables (STEAM Curriculum Beliefs and STEAM Curriculum Implementation) and independent variables (STEAM-focused vs. discipline specific, school climate, creativity climate, teaching 21st-century skills beliefs, teaching 21st-century beliefs implementation). For each of the two dependent variables, path analyses were run with each of the seven independent variables representing predictors. Further, teacher self-efficacy and STEAM awareness were mediators for the independent variables (STEAM-focused vs. discipline specific, school climate, creativity climate, teaching 21st-century skills beliefs, teaching 21st-century beliefs implementation) as well as the dependent variables (STEAM curriculum beliefs and STEAM curriculum implementation). Teachers’ beliefs surrounding STEAM practices and their perceptions school climate regarding innovative and creative curriculum have been shown to play a critical role in designing and implementing curriculum. This study adds to the literature on teacher beliefs, teacher personality types, enacted practice, and habits of mind (i.e., divergent thinking and creativity traits) that have been shown to influence teaching practices and student learning.

Keywords:

STEM Education, STEAM Education, Teacher Perceptions, Learning Environments.