STEAM conceptions, competencies and attitudes in higher education: a pilot study

Abstract

The rapid development of the STEAM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) has allowed education based on this approach to be considered as a key and essential component for 21st century education, where students are required to have a range of science and technology skills, skills and knowledge, in addition to providing them with a range of tools to cope with the various situations that arise, many of them complex and challenging; the objective of this paper is to show the preliminary results of a pilot study that was carried out to validate two instruments that were designed in order to evaluate the competences and attitudes in STEAM education of students and university teachers. To meet this objective, four stages were implemented that included the following moments: Phase 1. Estimation of the distribution of data, Phase 2. Pilot study, Phase 3. Estimation of reliability and internal consistency. Phase 4. Preliminary results. The main results show favorable indicators in understanding, relevance and satisfaction of the items and an adequate internal consistency around the values of reliability and validity.