Longitudinal analysis of teacher self-efficacy evolution during a STEAM professional development program: a qualitative case study

Despite the widespread advocacy for the integration of arts and humanities (A&H) into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education on an international scale, teachers face numerous obstacles in practically integrating A&H into STEM teaching (IAT). To tackle the challenges, a comprehensive five-stage framework for teacher professional development programs focussed on IAT has been developed. Through the use of a qualitative case study approach, this study outlines the shifts in a participant teacher’s self-efficacy following their exposure to each stage of the framework. The data obtained from interviews and reflective analyses were analyzed using a seven-stage inductive method. The findings have substantiated the significant impact of a teacher professional development program based on the framework on teacher self-efficacy, evident in both individual performance and student outcomes observed over eighteen months. The evolution of teacher self-efficacy in IAT should be regarded as an open and multi-level system, characterized by interactions with teacher knowledge, skills and other entrenched beliefs. Building on our research findings, an enhanced model of teacher professional learning is proposed. The revised model illustrates that professional learning for STEAM teachers should be conceived as a continuous and sustainable process, characterized by the dynamic interaction among teaching performance, teacher knowledge, and teacher beliefs. The updated model further confirms the inseparable link between teacher learning and student learning within STEAM education. This study contributes to the existing body of literature on teacher self-efficacy, teacher professional learning models and the design of IAT teacher professional development programs.