Perception of Pre-Service Teachers toward Integrating Arts in STEM Education

Abstract

Integrating Arts into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (also known as STEM) education or, simply put, STEAM education has received growing popularity as a way of promoting creativity, critical thinking, and holistic learning. The effective introduction of STEAM pedagogy is heavily based on the perception, attitude and readiness of the teachers, especially at the pre-service level. The current study was set to understand the perceptions of 100 pre-service teachers on the integration of Arts in STEM education with special attention on their attitudes, perceived readiness and the challenges in implementation. The study employed a descriptive survey design, and pre-service teachers were using a questionnaire based to provide information on the study. The gathered data were processed with the descriptive and inferential statistics analysis methods. The results showed that the pre-service teachers usually have a positive perception and a positive attitude towards Arts-integrated STEM education. Nevertheless, their willingness to apply STEAM pedagogy was rated as an average one, which showed the lack of competence in training and assessment practices. Professional training, time, resource constraint, and curriculum rigidity were found to be the biggest challenges. The analysis finds that pre-service teachers are generally conceptually enthusiastic about STEAM education, but need systematic curriculum-based support and practical exposure to increase the implementation readiness. The study has recommended that the results are useful in reinforcing the teacher education programs that are based on STEAM.