An investigation of elementary teachers' self-efficacy for teaching integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teachers' sense of self-efficacy for teaching integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Further, this study sought to explore potential differences, if any, in elementary teachers' sense of self-efficacy based on school status (Title I or non-Title I). One hundred thirty-seven elementary teachers from one unnamed school division in the southeastern region of Virginia participated in this study. The researcher collected data using two scales from the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Towards STEM Survey (T-STEM)---Elementary School. This 40-item, 5-point Likert-scale instrument was used to measure participants' self-efficacy beliefs related to teaching specific STEM subjects. Additionally, qualitative data were collected from one open-ended question. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants' self-efficacy beliefs and an independent-samples t test was used to determine if there was a significant difference in elementary teachers' sense of self-efficacy based on school status. Study results indicated that elementary teachers had a strong sense of self-efficacy with regard to teaching integrated STEM education in the elementary grades. Analysis further revealed that there was no significant difference in elementary teachers' sense of self-efficacy for teaching integrated STEM education in Title I schools as compared to non-Title I schools. Finally, qualitative data gathered from the open-ended responses revealed that teachers needed more curricular support and training in STEM to increase their overall effectiveness. The findings from this study may have important implications for school and district-level leaders who may be considering implementing integrated STEM education in the elementary grades.