Impact of innovative STEAM education practices on teacher professional development and 3-6 year old children’s competence development

Abstract

Over the last decade STEAM has been treated as a strategy for assurance of sustainable development, a concept of quality education and as a model of interdisciplinary integral education that facilitates solving social, ecological and economic problems related to technological development in the countries. STEAM education is most efficient, when it is organised in early childhood education already and increases children’s motivation to study and to link STEAM disciplines with their career as well as to self-develop an active position of citizen. The conducted empirical research revealed the following new data on STEAM at early age: a) early childhood teachers more frequently apply practices of STEAM education that target at development of children's soft (problem-solving, creativity, ability to learn, communication) skills and less frequently employ practices for nurturance of their hard (mathematical, technological, engineering) skills; this imbalance is favourable for development of a proactive and critically thinking child, who is able to make decisions in a responsible way but it does not ensure sustainable development of STEAM abilities; b) application of innovative STEAM education practices has effect on teacher professional development; c) STEAM practices have a bigger integral impact on development of 3-6 year old children’s competences through the teacher professional development rather than directly.