Australian teacher educators' perceptions of integrated STEM practices and barriers in primary initial teacher education

The integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) into primary education is recognised as important in research and policy discourse. However, there is limited consensus on how teacher educators prepare preservice primary teachers for integrated STEM teaching. This two-phase mixed-methods study investigated teacher educators’ practices and perceived barriers to preparing primary preservice teachers for implementing integrated STEM. Australian STEM teacher educators completed a 16-item survey (n = 38) and semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Findings revealed inconsistency between primary Initial Teacher Education programs nationally, with varied roles and approaches to integrating STEM disciplines. Survey data and thematic analysis of interview data identified regulatory and bureaucratic barriers, time, workload constraints, teacher educator capacity, and preservice teacher readiness as barriers to integrated STEM. These findings highlight the need for policy and institutional-level support to strengthen integrated STEM development within ITE and better prepare future primary teachers for implementing integrated STEM education.