International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Volume 118 No. 19 2018, 2339-2365

ISSN: 1311-8080 (printed version); ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version)
url: http://www.ijpam.eu
Special Issue
ijpam.eu

A Study on Teachers Practices of

STEAM Education in Korea
Seoung-Hey Paik1 Seong-Won Kim2 and
Youngjun Lee3
1
Dept. of Chemistry Education,
Korea National University of Education,
250 Taeseongtabyeon-ro, Grangnae-myeon,
Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju,
Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
shpaik@knue.ac.kr
2,3
Dept. of Computer Education,
Korea National University of Education,
250 Taeseongtabyeon-ro, Grangnae-myeon,
Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju,
Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
sos284809@gmail.com
yjlee@knue.ac.kr
January 23, 2018

Abstract
Background / Objectives: Evaluate the current sta-
tus of STEAM education at various levels of schooling in
relation to teachers experience of STEAM teacher training.
Methods / Statistical analysis: Through online sur-
veys, 9970 teachers in Korea were surveyed concerning STEAM
education. The survey investigated the progress of STEAM
classes, frequency of classes, methods used, types of conver-
gence, subject matter and competency objectives of STEAM

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classes. The questionnaire results were analyzed according

to whether the respondents participated in STEAM teacher
training and were analyzed by Pearsons Chi-square test ac-
cording to the school level
Findings: At higher academic levels, the proportion
of teachers conducting STEAM classes decreased. Also, at
higher levels, the time of classes of STEAM classes also
decreased. As a result, the study confirmed that STEAM
education has not been offered appropriately at each level of
schooling. Although the method of progress class was often
carried out by teachers alone at all school levels, the num-
ber of types of collaboration with teachers increased with
the increase of the school level. Interdisciplinary conver-
gence was frequently included at all levels, while activity-
oriented classes increased at higher academic levels. How-
ever, as the boundaries between the subjects increased at
higher levels, convergence was inhibited although collabo-
ration among teachers increased. The core competencies
pursued were the ability to use knowledge and cooperation.
These results show that the STEAM education differs ac-
cording to teachers experience with STEAM training and
academic level.
Improvements / Applications: This study can be
used to understand the current status of STEAM educa-
tion in Korea, and as a basis for additional STEAM teacher
training research at the school level.
Key Words : STEAM education, STEAM teacher
training, convergence education, teacher, investigation of
teachers’ practices

1 Introduction
According to the World Economic Forum in 2016, technology will
converge in many areas as it evolves. As a result, new disciplines are
expected to emerge and social, economic, and industrial worlds as
well as our everyday lives will take on new forms that the world has
not experienced before 1 . The problems that arise in this process of
change cannot be solved using existing knowledge alone, but solu-
tions can be approached through a fusion of knowledge in a complex
problem-solving process 2 . Therefore, education now aims to foster

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problem-solving strategies that allow different knowledge bases to

converge 3 . The United States has already been training conver-
gent talent in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) education, while convergence practices have been intro-
duced in various countries including the United Kingdom, Finland
and Israel 4,5 .
Since the need for convergent talent has been emphasized, Ko-
rea has also come to recognize the need for a new, less conventional
form of education. As a result, Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, a movement to add
art to existing STEM education in the United States, was intro-
duced in Korean institutions as a type of convergence education 6,7 .
Unlike STEM education in the United States, STEAM education is
designed to improve students’ interest in science and mathematics,
and to develop their ability to solve problems using a convergence
of approaches, incorporating the humanistic imagination 8,9 . Since
the introduction of STEAM education in schools for the first time
in 2011, Various studies have examined such aspects as the develop-
ment and application of the STEAM program 10−15 , analyses of its
effect 16,17 , investigations of its status and degree of adoption 18 , in-
vestigations of awareness of its concepts 19−24 , proposed theoretical
models 6−9 , curriculum development 25−27 , and analyses of research
trends 4,12,28−30 have all been conducted. In addition, STEAM has
been deployed to promote STEAM education at school-related in-
teractions including leader school, research schools, teacher-training
societies, teacher study groups, and teacher training 9 .
Although there are documents available to support STEAM
education, little research has disclosed how STEAM education is
structured in actual school contexts. Research to investigate the
current state of STEAM education has addressed teachers partici-
pating in STEAM education training and culminated in evaluations
of teachers of certain specific subjects 23,31,32 . To solve the problem
of limited scope, Park et al. (2016) investigated the operational
status of STEAM education in all schools throughout Korea. This
study analyzed the overall status of STEAM education in operation,
while devising improvement points to use when activating STEAM
education in local schools 18 . Park’s study investigated such items
as frequency, time, and budgets for STEAM education, but did
not analyze how STEAM education actually progresses in a school

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context. Therefore, there is a limit to current understandings of

STEAM education within schools.
Therefore, this study investigated how teachers are engaged
with STEAM education in schools nationwide. To overcome the
limitations of previous studies and to examine how STEAM educa-
tion is conducted in schools, the variables investigated included the
frequency of STEAM classes, methods used, types of convergence,
subject matter and competency objectives in STEAM classes. In
addition, by analyzing teachers’ experience with STEAM train-
ing and different levels of schooling, the study examined whether
STEAM education operates differently in schools according to these
factors. Throughout this study, I have suggested possible improve-
ments to STEAM education at various academic levels, and drawn
out implications for teacher training.

2 Methods
2.1 Procedure
In this study, the current status of the teacher’s training for STEAM
education was investigated. In addition, the difference of STEAM
teaching status according to the participation of the school level
or teacher ’s STEAM teacher training was analyzed, to derive a
plan for activation of STEAM education. For this study, an in-
strument was developed to investigate teachers’ experience with
STEAM education through a process of consultation between re-
searchers and subject-matter experts. The data were collected us-
ing this instrument and analyzed according to academic level of
schools and STEAM training experience of teachers, while also in-
vestigating STEAM education practices at schools.

2.2 Survey instrument

In this study, a questionnaire survey was used to investigate the
status of STEAM teaching and the personal-level variables about
the teachers to interpret current practices in STEAM education.
The items related to teachers consisted of gender, length of career,
educational attainment, area of work, academic level of school, and

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major subject of teaching. These variables were collected to inves-

tigate which teachers were participating. The questionnaire about
the status of STEAM teaching asked whether STEAM classes were
conducted and about the frequency, methods, types of convergence,
subject matter and core competencies pursued in each STEAM
class. The question related to the actual status of the STEAM
class was addressed only to teachers who had experienced STEAM
classes. Questionnaire items were developed by a group of ten ex-
perts in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics ed-
ucation related to STEAM pedagogy. To increase the reliability
and validity of the items, the questions were asked of nine STEAM
education experts, while pilot tests were conducted with teachers
to improve the completeness of the instrument.

2.3 Participants
A total of 9,990 teachers participated in the survey. Four teach-
ers did not participate in all questionnaire modules, leaving 9,986
completed surveys. The characteristics of the teachers participat-
ing in the questionnaire are as follows: for gender, more women
(64.9%) than men (35.1%) were represented. The career experi-
ence of teachers was extremely varied, with the largest numbers of
respondents reporting the ends of the spectrum: either less than 5
years (25.7%), or more than 21 years (20.7%), with the remaining
teachers reporting either 1620 years (18.2%), 1115 years (18.1%), or
610 years (17.3%). In terms of the educational level of the teach-
ers, the overwhelming majority (64.7%) reported a bachelors de-
gree as the highest level obtained. A substantial minority (34.0%)
reported a masters degree, while the representation of doctoral de-
grees was negligible (1.3%). For the geographic variable, teach-
ers worked most often in the Gyeonggi area (28.6%), followed by
Gyeongnam (16.1 %), Daegu (12.2%), Jeonnam (11.4%) and Busan
(7.1%). Chungbuk (0.1%), Jeonbuk (0.1%), Jeju (0.1%), Gyeong-
buk (0.3%), and Seoul (0.9%) showed lower participation than other
regions, particularly Seoul which contains 40% of the national pop-
ulation.
Looking at the level of education taught, 55.4% of respondents
taught in elementary schools, more than middle schools (26.5%)
and high schools (18.0%) combined. For this variable, however, 16

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participants responses were not analyzed, as they reported them-

selves to be administrators or researchers rather than classroom
teachers. Respondents were most likely to report science as their
major subject (29.7%), which is typically understood as the core
discipline for which the STEAM approach provides variety and rel-
evance. Others specialized in humanities and social science (16.3%)
or in arts (14.4%), with the latter including teachers of music, art,
and physical education. Meanwhile, mathematics (9.6%), Korean
(8.6%), English (7.2%) and practical arts (6.9%) were also repre-
sented, see Table 1.

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Table 1. The distribution of teachers by gender, years of teaching

experience, education level of teacher, teacher worked area, school-
ing level, and teachers’ major

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2.4 Investigation and analysis

Teachers in all regions of Korea participated in the survey; the on-
line format allowed increased participation in the study. The ques-
tionnaire was developed using the Google platform and distributed
the URL to teachers through local educational authorities. The
instrument itself directed only teachers involved in STEAM educa-
tion to participate. The survey period lasted from September 7 to
October 2, 2015. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed
according to the level taught and STEAM teacher training. In the
analysis, a Chi-square test was used to analyze how the STEAM
teaching type of teachers’ teaching styles differed according to the
school level.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Status regarding STEAM classes according
to teacher training
More than half of the teachers responding had participated in STEAM
training (54.2%), but fewer than half were currently using a STEAM
approach (43.8%). Therefore, while attempting to revitalize STEAM
education, this study confirmed lower levels of teacher participation
in both STEAM training and teaching STEAM classes. This re-
sult also showed that teachers teaching STEAM classes had seldom
participated in STEAM teachers’ training (10.4%), see Table 2.
Therefore, twenty percent of respondents were teaching STEAM
classes at school without the expertise and understanding provided
by specialized STEAM training. These teachers may have a lim-
ited interpretation of STEAM classes as distinct from standard ap-
proaches to the curriculum, which could undermine the goals of
STEAM education 18,19 . These suggested that the need for more
STEAM training to be provided to teachers in the school context.

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Table 2. Teachers’ practice of STEAM classes in school Number of

Teachers (%)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the actual status of

STEAM education at elementary, middle, and high school lev-
els. Implementation of STEAM education in classes showed a
statistically significant difference between teachers participating in
STEAM training and those who did not, x2 = 1373.567, p <.001.
Teachers who participated in STEAM training also showed statis-
tically significant difference in STEAM classes taught according to
the school level, x2 = 25.197, p <.001. Elementary school teachers
(62.8%) and middle school teachers (61.3%) taught more STEAM
classes than high school teachers (53.6%). There was a statistically
significant difference in the progress of STEAM education accord-
ing to the school level in the teachers who did not participate in the
STEAM training, x2 = 41.714, p <.001. In addition, high school
teachers (16.6%) had fewer STEAM classes than levels of schooling;
see Table 3.

Table 3. Teachers’ practice of STEAM classes according to teachers’

training Number of Teachers (%)

*ET: Elementary school teacher; MT Middle school teacher; HT

High school teacher
Teachers who participated in STEAM teacher training were
more likely to teach STEAM classes in school than those without.
STEAM teacher training was seen to stimulate teachers STEAM

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

teaching in school, x2 = 137.678, p <.001. On the other hand, as

the level of the school increased, regardless of the STEAM teacher
training, the STEAM education in the school was less prevalent.
Park et al. (2016) have shown that the requirements regarding
educational environment, additional time and effort, and a pro-
fessional consensus of teachers against teaching STEAM classes 18
could explain this trend. In the Korean educational environment,
the higher the school level, the stronger the boundaries between the
subjects, making it difficult to assign the time for STEAM classes.
The higher the school level taught, the lower the implementation of
STEAM education; these differences were statistically significant 9 .

3.2 Frequency of STEAM classes according to

academic level
Teachers who conducting STEAM classes were asked how many
number of hours of teaching STEAM education they were responsi-
ble for, according to the level they taught. First, teachers who had
received STEAM teacher training showed a statistically significant
difference in the classes taught per semester according to the aca-
demic level,x2 = 142.780, p < .001. Teachers who conducted one to
three STEAM classes at all levels were the most frequent. Middle
school (69.1%) and high school (69.5%) teachers were more likely to
conduct fewer classes when compared to elementary school teachers
(51.0%), who were more likely to teach multiple classes, whether
four to six (24.7%), seven to nine (8.0%) or ten and above (16.4%).
Therefore, elementary school teachers taught more STEAM classes
than teachers at other levels. By contrast, Park et al. (2016) had
observed that elementary school teachers were responsible for fewer
STEAM classes than at higher levels, the opposite of the results of
this study. At the high school level, STEAM education was most
frequently conducted for one to three hours per semester, but the
number of teachers who completed 10 hours or more was higher
(9.4%) than at the middle school level (5.4%). These results show
that STEAM classes are frequently used in high schools, in spite of
the educational constraints noted by Park et al. (2016) 18 .
Teachers without STEAM teacher training showed essentially
the same results as teachers who had STEAM teacher training, in
spite of statistically significant differences between the school lev-

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

els of STEAM classes, x2 = 23.829, p= .001, see Table 4 addition;

Once again, one to three hours per week was the most frequent of-
fering at all academic levels. However, teachers who did not partic-
ipate in the STEAM teacher training devoted less time to providing
STEAM education than those who had participated in the STEAM
teacher training. Kang, Lee, and Kang (2013) confirmed that sec-
ondary teachers’ perceptions of STEAM education were enhanced
through STEAM teacher training 21 In addition, Lee, Park, and
Kim (2013) also found that elementary school teachers perceived
an increased need for STEAM education after undergoing STEAM
teacher training 23 . The results of this study suggest that STEAM
teacher training positively affects teachers’ STEAM education.

Table 4. Frequency of STEAM classes according to academic level

Number of Teachers (%)

3.3 Methods of STEAM instruction according

to academic level
The methods of STEAM instruction used in classes were differ-
ent for those teachers who had undergone STEAM teacher training
than for those who had not, x2 = 48.594, p < .001. At all academic
levels, STEAM was taught alone. This situation was most preva-
lent at the elementary school level (81.7%) and was lowest in middle
school (70.2%). On the other hand, STEAM teaching through col-
laboration with teachers of various subjects was most frequently
seen in middle school (29.8%). Koreas curriculum features many
convergent subjects at the elementary school level, whereas sub-
jects become differentiated at middle school and high school levels.

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Therefore, in elementary school, STEAM instruction was often per-

formed by teachers working alone, while at higher levels of school-
ing, the number of teachers using collaborative methods increased.
Teachers who did not receive STEAM teacher training were also
most likely to teach this subject by itself, x2 = 8.170, p = .017.
Even as the academic level increased, there was little change in
the number of teachers teaching STEAM in convergence with other
subjects, see Table 5. These results suggest that teachers may per-
ceive STEAM not as a teaching learning method, but rather as
a popular term, as suggested by You, Hwang, and Han (2016) 32 .
Therefore, it appears that STEAM is not being taught according
to the goals of intended in STEAM pedagogy 32 . Furthermore,
teachers who did not receive STEAM teacher training may be us-
ing a limited caricature of what has been intended in this approach.
Han and Lee (2012) stated that STEAM education is being applied
in a restricted way compared to the intentions of pedagogues 19 .
Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether teachers are us-
ing the process of interdisciplinary convergence to achieve greater
mathematics and science literacy through STEAM teaching 9 .

Table 5. Methods of STEAM instruction according to academic

level Number of Teachers (%)

3.4 Convergence in STEAM classes according

to academic levels
The type of convergence shown in STEAM classes showed statis-
tically significant differences according to the academic level,x2 =
118.597, p < .001. Interdisciplinary convergence was the most com-
mon form at all levels, and was more common in elementary schools
than at higher levels (63.5%). On the other hand, multidisciplinary

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convergence and activity-based instruction were more common in

middle and high schools than in elementary schools.
Teachers without STEAM teacher training showed statistically
significant difference in the pattern of STEAM class convergence
approaches according to the school level,x2 = 70.639, p < .001;
teachers who did not receive STEAM teacher training also used
interdisciplinary teaching; At the elementary and middle school
levels, interdisciplinary convergence did not show a significant dif-
ference depending on STEAM teacher training. At the high school
level, fewer teachers conducted interdisciplinary forms of conver-
gence, while activity-based instruction was more frequent than at
lower levels, see Table 6. Yoo, Hwang, and Han (2016) found that
secondary school teachers had a negative perception of STEAM
education compared to elementary school teachers, that it was dif-
ficult for them to collaborate with each other, and that they re-
ported problems with entrance examinations 32 . Therefore, it seems
that secondary school teachers have fewer forms of transdisciplinary
convergence and interdisciplinary convergence available to them for
STEAM education than do elementary school teachers. Sim, Lee,
and Kim (2015) report difficulty in collaborating with teachers of
other subjects. Problem solving experience is therefore provided
through different methods of convergence, according to different
pedagogical approaches and grade levels, which does not reflect
the approach to mathematical and scientific literacy endorsed in
STEAM 9 . The many activity-centered forms of instruction in sec-
ondary schools may not stimulate the forms of literacy and practical
problem-solving ability intended through convergence 33,34,35 .

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Table 6. Convergence in STEAM classes according to academic

levels Number of Teachers (%)

3.5 Themes of STEAM classes according to aca-

demic level
The themes of STEAM classes have been analyzed according to the
convergence theme and related STEAM theme. The scope of con-
vergence subjects was statistically significant at the school level for
both the teachers who received the STEAM teacher training (x2 =
66.659, p < .001) and those who did not (x2 = 18.883, p = .004).
The scope of the convergence theme showed statistically significant
differences according to the school level. At all academic levels,
teachers reported “individuals” most often as the scope of con-
vergence themes, followed by “community,” “global,” and “other.”
The individual level showed little difference according to the school
level, but prevalence differed according to the school level for com-
munity and world themes. The higher the school level, the lower
the percentage of teachers used community themes and the higher
the percentage designating the global. The scope of convergence
topics thus tends to widen at higher academic levels, see Table 7.
According to a study by Park et al. (2016), STEAM educa-
tion in high school is less evident in the regular school curriculum
while being higher in clubs and after-school activities. In addition,
the cost of STEAM education was higher in high school than at
lower levels. Therefore, STEAM education is less likely to be car-
ried out in high school, but is used to deepen learning by various
activities. In addition, the budget requirements for implementing
these subjects implies a scope of convergence themes different from

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those of other schools. Students’ satisfaction with STEAM educa-

tion tends to be high because new forms are taught in high school
where knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning has
been heightened 18 .

Table 7. Themes of STEAM classes according to academic level (1)

Number of Teachers (%)

Second, the related theme of STEAM approaches used by teach-

ers in class was analyzed according to academic level. As with the
scope of convergence in STEAM education, the theme of STEAM
education showed statistically significant differences according to
level of schooling, among both teachers with STEAM teacher train-
ing (x2 = 116.554, p < .001) and those without (x2 = 69.673, p <
.001). The most popular theme at all school levels was the “environ-
ment.,” followed by “advanced science and technology,” “health,”
“natural resources,” “other,” and “risk.” The environment was
the most frequently used theme in elementary school, but declined
at higher levels of schooling. Meanwhile, “advanced science and
technology” became significantly more prevalent as the school level
increased. Health was also a more common theme in middle schools
and high schools compared to elementary schools, see Table 8.
In the study of Lee, Park, and Kim (2013), science was the sub-
ject most frequently as the theme of STEAM education programs
23
. Therefore, “natural resources” and “health,” which are science-
related topics, are considered to be central topics of STEAM educa-
tion. Meanwhile, advanced knowledge and high-level skills may be
necessary for classes conducted on the theme of “advanced science
and technology.” Lee and Kim (2012) found that the lower the aca-
demic level, the harder it is to provide students with the knowledge

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needed to solve engineering problems on themes such as advanced

science and technology 33 . Therefore, it is only possible to employ
such topics in STEAM education at a high academic level, when
this knowledge can be deeply understood and used 9,36 .

Table 8. Themes of STEAM classes according to academic level (2)

Number of Teachers (%)

3.6 STEAM competency objectives according

to academic level
Because the core competencies pursued in the STEAM classes were
identified using multiple choice questions, the answers selected by
the teachers could be classified and analyzed for differences accord-
ing to each academic level. Unlike many other STEAM education
practices, the competency objectives varied depending on whether
teachers had undergone STEAM training, showing statistically sig-
nificant differences between the teachers with STEAM training (x2
= 39.808, p = .002) and those without (x2 = 17.259, p = .505).
Teachers who had participated in STEAM teacher training empha-
sized the ability to utilize knowledge and information, at all school
levels, as well as collaboration. Looking at the difference accord-
ing to the school level, the higher the school level, the higher the
percentage of teachers who adopted the technology utilization abil-
ity as a core competency sought in STEAM education. On the
other hand, the ability to connect with communities and to use

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languages, symbols and letters for interaction tended to decrease.

This trend appears to relate to the subject of STEAM education: as
the subject of STEAM education focuses on “advanced science and
technology” at higher academic levels, the competency of technol-
ogy utilization is increasingly promoted. Meanwhile, in elementary
schools, “community” was a more widespread theme than at other
levels, drawing attention to the ability to connect with communi-
ties and to use languages, symbols, and letters to interact, as core
competencies, see Table 9.
Teachers who did not participate in STEAM teacher training
showed a similar pattern, but it was weaker in this case and not
statistically significant. However, teachers without STEAM teacher
training showed statistically significant differences in the theme of
STEAM classes, so it is necessary to analyze in detail the reasons
why these differences occurred.

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4 Conclusion
This study investigated the current status of STEAM education
in schools in Korea by measuring teacher participation in STEAM
training and their involvement in STEAM class offerings. The con-
clusions of this study are as follows. First, many STEAM teachers
had not received STEAM teacher training. In addition, a significant

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

number of teachers, with or without training, were not involved in

offering STEAM education. A previous study had observed that
the lack of teaching expertise among STEAM teachers could make
it difficult to introduce STEAM education in the field. Therefore,
STEAM education has been implemented poorly due to misun-
derstandings of and lack of expertise in STEAM pedagogy within
schools. However, STEAM teacher training facilitates understand-
ing and positive awareness of the process, it is necessary for the
activation of STEAM approaches in schools.
Second, the higher the level of schooling, the higher the pro-
portion of teachers who did not attend STEAM training. As in
previous studies, the rate of STEAM education in middle and high
schools was lower than that in elementary schools. It is more diffi-
cult to carry out STEAM education at higher academic levels be-
cause burdens and differentiation all increase as at higher academic
levels and mitigate against STEAM education. Therefore, STEAM
education is more likely to take place outside of, or in addition to,
the regular school curriculum.
Third, STEAM classes were most commonly offered one to three
times by teachers at all school levels. In this study, as the academic
level increased, many teachers conducted short STEAM lessons.
However, previous studies have shown the opposite tendency. This
study observed that the higher the level of schooling, the shorter
the STEAM lesson times. In addition, STEAM teacher training
encouraged participants to conduct more STEAM classes in school.
Fourth, during STEAM classes, middle and high school teachers
conducted more collaborative lessons than did elementary school
teachers. Although many teachers conducted these classes alone,
at all academic levels, more teachers worked together in STEAM
classes at higher levels of schooling than at the elementary level. In
addition, the proportion of teachers who collaborated was higher
among those who had received STEAM teacher training.
Fifth, STEAM classes showed different patterns of convergence
at different academic levels. Interdisciplinary convergence was ev-
ident in all cases, with STEAM education featuring transdisci-
plinary, multidisciplinary, and activity-oriented approaches. At the
elementary level, interdisciplinary convergence was more frequently
present, while in middle and high schools, activity-based instruc-
tion and multidisciplinary convergence were frequently reported.

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Therefore, the higher the level of schooling, the more forms of con-
vergence were employed that did not break down the boundaries
between the subjects.
Sixth, the themes pursued in STEAM classes differed according
to the level of schooling. Due to the Korean curriculum and dif-
ficulties with problem-solving in engineering and STEAM classes,
the themes of convergence changed from “community” in elemen-
tary schools to “global” in middle and high schools. Also, as the
academic level increased, “advanced science and technology” be-
came more prominent as a theme in STEAM education. The core
competencies sought showed a related pattern: community-related
competencies decreased at higher levels of schooling, while the pro-
portion of competences related to advanced science and technology
increased.
This study has shown that STEAM education differed in its op-
eration at different levels of schooling. In addition, teachers with-
out STEAM training tended to employ a more limited concept of
STEAM education than teachers with this experience. Therefore,
STEAM teacher training is needed to improve the understanding
and teaching expertise of STEAM education at every academic
level. In previous studies, teachers who received advanced STEAM
training also lacked an understanding of and had a negative percep-
tion of STEAM education. To improve STEAM teacher training, it
is necessary to analyze the needs of teachers in relation to the prac-
tical challenges they encounter. STEAM training that meets the
needs of teachers can help improve their teaching expertise while
providing information about STEAM education programs to be
used at the school site, while improving the efficacy of STEAM
teaching. A follow-up study should therefore be conducted to ana-
lyze the effects of STEAM teacher training and how it can be im-
proved. This training should be developed according to the needs
of different academic levels and applied within practical school con-
texts.
According to many previous studies, training for a STEAM cur-
riculum is not necessarily organized practically for STEAM educa-
tion. This study shows some effects of these difficulties, and in spite
of pressure to include these concepts at higher levels of schooling,
it is difficult to apply STEAM education in high school contexts.
Therefore, practically-oriented STEAM training will be required,

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to integrate STEAM education more widely in schools. Although a

model of STEAM education had been developed in previous stud-
ies, it did not reflect the reality of the school context and therefore
was not practically suitable for STEAM education. A model that
relates the goals and concepts of STEAM education to the current
situation in schools should therefore be developed; such models
could help teachers who do not have STEAM training to conduct
STEAM education.
The evaluation of STEAM processes serves as a stumbling block
to the integration of STEAM education in schools. STEAM educa-
tion aims to cultivate problem-solving abilities by solving real-life
problems through the convergence of knowledge from various sub-
jects. However, in Korea, the curriculum is oriented “vertically” to
prepare and evaluate students as they approach upper secondary
school. Therefore, the horizontal convergence required for STEAM
education is not a priority. Meanwhile, consensus on the goals
and priority of STEAM education has not been achieved, mak-
ing progress difficult in a school context. Students and teachers
who have experienced STEAM classes had many positive evalu-
ations about this approach. However, in the context of conver-
gence between the various subjects for STEAM education, the ul-
timate problem remains: how to evaluate its outcomes. It is diffi-
cult to evaluate the outcomes of horizontal convergence when the
boundaries between subjects are strong and rigid. In addition, no
testing tools have yet been developed to measure accurately the
convergent literacy and problem-solving abilities addressed through
STEAM education. This problem of evaluation is fundamental to
the progress of STEAM education; therefore, models and items for
the evaluation of STEAM education should be developed, to over-
come this barrier.
This study investigated the current situation of STEAM classes
for a more representative set of teachers in Korea from all regions,
academic levels, and major subjects of teaching. However, teachers
did not participate equally well from all regions of Korea. For
example, 40% of Korea’s teachers work in the Seoul region, but
only very few teachers from Seoul participated in the survey. This
places a limit on the generalization of the results of this study.
Future surveys will need to ensure the participation of teachers
from all regions of Korea when investigating the current state of

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International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue

STEAM education throughout the country.

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