Personal readiness of teachers to implement STEM education through the prism of interaction and cooperation: empirical results of the study

The article highlights the urgent problem of developing teachers' personal readiness to implement STEM education in the context of modern challenges. It has been established that STEM education is a leading methodological paradigm that integrates natural sciences, technologies, engineering and mathematics, contributing to the formation of a holistic scientific worldview, the development of critical and systematic thinking, innovative creativity, as well as readiness to solve complex interdisciplinary problems. The article presents a theoretical analysis of the essence of the concepts of «interaction» and «cooperation» in professional activity, their importance as determinants of teachers' personal readiness to implement STEM education. Modern scientific researches on the psychological factors of teachers' personal readiness for professional activity, in particular in the context of STEM education implementation, are analyzed. The methodological basis of the empirical study, which covered 962 teachers of general secondary education institutions, is defined and substantiated. It was found that most teachers demonstrate an average level of interaction in their professional activities. It is emphasized that teachers' self-assessment of their ability to cooperate in the context of STEM education is higher than the overall level of interaction in professional activities, which indicates that teachers are aware of the importance of joint efforts to implement STEM education. Attention is focused on the key psychological factors that, in the opinion of teachers, determine the effectiveness of interaction and cooperation (knowledge exchange, joint development of STEM lessons, overcoming professional difficulties, etc.) The article analyzes the obstacles and psychological barriers that complicate pedagogical interaction and cooperation for the implementation of STEM education. The conclusions of the article confirm that the successful implementation of STEM education requires systematic work on the development of teachers' cooperative skills and overcoming the identified problems. Prospects for further research on the in-depth study of psychological factors of personal readiness and the development of effective programs to support pedagogical interaction in the context of integrating STEM approaches are identified.