Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Practices, the STEAM Approach, and Collaborative Work

This chapter analyzes the perceptions of primary and middle school teachers who participated as part of a collaborative group. The main objective is to understand their perceptions of teaching practices, the STEAM approach, and collaborative work. The study adopts a qualitative, descriptive, and interpretative approach. A total of four primary and three middle school teachers took part in the training. The results indicate that, although most participants had some prior exposure to the STEAM concept, they were unfamiliar with its core principles and the different forms of disciplinary integration. Additionally, challenges related to interdisciplinarity were identified, particularly in middle school, where multidisciplinarity is seen as an obstacle. In contrast, primary school teachers believe that monodisciplinary teaching facilitates the integration of the STEAM areas. The research also highlights the importance of continuous professional development and collaborative work as key factors for adopting innovative teaching practices. These findings emphasize the need for adequate teacher training and support to better integrate the STEAM approach into classroom practices.