In-service teachers’ readiness, challenges and support needs for implementing steam teaching in schools

STEAM education has received growing research interest as a pedagogical approach that supports multidisciplinary learning, creativity and authentic problem-solving in schools. In the Finnish basic education context STEAM aligns closely with the National Core Curriculum, which emphasises transversal competencies and multidisciplinary learning modules. Despite this alignment the practical implementation of STEAM teaching remains complex and places significant demands on teachers’ pedagogical competence, collaboration, and professional support. This study explores in-service teachers’ (N=10) perceptions of STEAM education, their readiness to implement STEAM teaching and the challenges and support conditions shaping STEAM implementation in everyday school contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten in-service teachers from primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools who had experience with or interest in STEAM teaching. The interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis supported by qualitative data analysis software. The findings indicate that teachers view STEAM positively, but experience challenges related to multidisciplinary lesson design, assessment of integrated learning, subject-specific constraints, and limited opportunities for collaborative planning. Teachers’ readiness to implement STEAM was closely linked to their pedagogical content knowledge, particularly multidisciplinary PCK, as well as access to sustained professional development and collaborative support structures such as co-teaching. The results highlight a gap between conceptual understanding of STEAM and the practical ability to apply it. The study contributes to research on STEAM education by focusing on teachers’ perspectives and identifying key pedagogical and organisational conditions that support sustainable STEAM implementation in schools.