Determining the Views, Current Situations, and Needs of Preschool Teachers about STEAM Education - Case of Turkey

Oct 15, 2026

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This research aimed to determine preschool teachers’ views, current situations in schools, and expressed needs regarding STEAM education. A qualitative case study design was used, with purposeful sampling selecting 10 preschool teachers who had taken STEM education courses. Semi-structured interviews (9–15 minutes) were analyzed through content analysis. Findings showed limited STEAM knowledge, positive perceived effects on children, strong educational and activity needs, and difficulty finding resources. Teachers recommend age-appropriate, interest-based STEAM activities that integrate science and mathematics, use gamification when needed, and engage children through problem-centered, art-supported and technology-enabled processes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

ABSTRACT

1. INTRODUCTION

Determining the Views, Current Situations, and Needs of Preschool Teachers about STEAM Education: Case of Turkey Selin Yıldız 1*, Raşit Zengin2 1Institue of Education Science, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey 2Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey *Corresponding author: [slnylddz@gmail.com](slnylddz@gmail.com) ABSTRACT This research aimed to determine preschool teachers' views, the current situation, and schools regarding STEM education. A case study, which is a qualitative research approach, was used for this research. The study group was determined by the purposeful sampling method. The research study group comprises 10 preschool teachers with STEM education courses. In the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine preschool teachers' opinions. Semi-structured interviews lasted between 9 and 15 minutes. The interview was analyzed with content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that preschool teachers have limited knowledge about STEAM, have positive effects on children, have educational and activity needs, and have difficulty finding resources. According to teachers, STEAM activities for preschool students should be age/level appropriate, selected according to the student's interest, should include science and mathematics subjects, if necessary, the process should be gamified, children should have fun in the process, children should be taken to the center starting from the problem situation, supported by art and art and technological tools. Keywords: STEAM education, Preschool teachers, Needs 1. INTRODUCTION One of the important educational challenges in this century is to equip individuals with different skills from different fields in order for them to adapt and survive in a rapidly changing and technologically developing world (Turiman et al., 2012) . Individuals need multiple competencies in more than one subject and skills. In addition, the problems faced in today's science and technology-rich society have become more complex than ever. Solving such problems requires solutions from the convergence of multiple disciplines. STEM education is a contemporary approach that helps students gain scientific and technological literacy and keep up with technological and scientific developments and innovations. Researchers define STEM education differently (Angier, 2010; Bybee, 2013; Dare et al., 2019; Herschbach, 2011; Moore et al., 2020) . According to Dare et al. (2019), some common features of STEM-related studies can be related to the definition of STEM. These carrying out STEM education in the context of interesting daily life (Bryan et al., 2015; Honey et al., 2014), intentional, explicit connections between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and their modeling in such a way that they will be used in STEM careers (Bryan et al. 2015; Honey et al., 2014), developing 21st century skills (Bryan et al., 2015; Honey et al., 2014), emphasis is placed on student-centered pedagogies (Breiner et al., 2012; Bryan et al., 2015; Labovet al., 2010; Rinke et al., 2016; Sanders, 2009) . Based on these features, Yıldız and Zengin (2023) defined STEM education as an up-to-date approach that centers students from kindergarten to higher education, emphasizes 21stcentury skills, and enables multidimensional learning by integrating different fields. Numerous scholars have suggested that the integration of arts and STEM fields can be invaluable and provide many important contributions to core STEM disciplines (Connor et al., 2015; Daugherty, 2013; Boy, 2013; Peppler, 2013; Sousa & Pilecki, 2013; Yakman, 2008). Thus, STEM education emerged by adding art discipline to STEM education. The aim of STEAM education is to provide students with active learning environments where they can become excited, curious, and active learners who can take control of their own learning (Daugherty, 2013) . The STEAM approach is

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study on STEAM education in Turkey?

The study determined preschool teachers’ views, current situations at their schools, and their needs related to STEAM education.

How was the research conducted and analyzed?

A qualitative case study design was used. Ten preschool teachers were selected through purposeful sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using content analysis.

What key results were found about preschool teachers’ STEAM knowledge and needs?

Teachers showed limited knowledge of STEAM, reported positive effects on children, expressed educational and activity needs, and experienced difficulty finding resources.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri