STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is a globally recognised interdisciplinary (Casado Fernández (2) A suitable search string was created and entered into the selected databases; (3) Theelectronic search was filtered by a. publication type (empirical articles), b. publication date (2009-present), c. language (English andSpanish), d. type of publishing, e. school level and f. context (Studies that are focused on in-service STEAM Teacher ProfessionalDevelopment Programs); (4) Exclusion criteria was applied in this phase: a. conference papers; b. not in English or Spanish; c. articles forwhich the full text was unavailable from our university access; d. studies that did not focus on in-service STEAM TPDPs (e.g., thoseinvolving only students in university and those involving only students in schools, or even those including only educational policies and/orschool management); (5) Records identified by searching the electronic databases were exported to EndNote to identify and deleteduplicates; (6) The electronic search was supplemented by hand searching citations and relevant author’s profiles; (7) In the first phase,team members independently screened the titles and abstracts of all identified records, until each record has been checked by the threereviewers, and potential conflicts regarding the inclusion/exclusion of a particular publication have been resolved; (8) In the second phase,full-texts were screened based on a more elaborate list of inclusion/exclusion criteria; (9) When necessitated by lack of relevant data in theabstract, full-texts were retrieved and screened for eligibility as early as the first phase; (10) The results of the literature screening weretracked via Rayyan. After the first phase, the conducting stage involved the quality assessment using the principles of effectiveness design for professionaldevelopment programs, which means coding and categorisation, synthesis and data analysis. The reporting stage of review refer to results,discussion and conclusions. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings This systematic review investigates the interdisciplinary and constructivist foundations of Teacher Professional Development Programs(TPDPs) in STEAM education, focusing on the integration of the arts into the sciences. This integration enriches scientific learning byfostering innovation, creativity, and critical thinking, while promoting holistic, interdisciplinary understanding. By breaking down barriersbetween disciplines, STEAM emphasizes a comprehensive skillset that aligns with modern educational practices. The diversity in teacher training strategies—ranging from workshops and hands-on activities to sustained support through professionallearning communities—proves effective in enhancing teacher confidence, self-efficacy, and pedagogical practices. While existingevaluations prioritize teacher outcomes, there is a pressing need for studies exploring direct impacts on student outcomes to fully assessprogramme effectiveness. A notable finding is the sustainability of these programmes through the establishment of Communities of Practice. These foster ongoingpeer collaboration and professional growth beyond initial training, supported by funding from government bodies, private foundations, anduniversities. The quality of STEAM TPDPs aligns with established frameworks, such as those by Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) and Lo(2021), emphasizing core principles like active learning, collaboration, and sustained engagement. Despite the growth in STEAM research, this review identifies a critical gap: the inconsistent integration of the arts into STEAMprogrammes. This shortcoming undermines the potential of STEAM to enhance creativity and problem-solving. Addressing this gaprequires dedicated research and collaboration among educators, researchers, and experts in the arts and humanities. Future initiativesshould focus on arts literacy, modelling strategies, and professional development to enable meaningful integration of the arts into STEAMprojects. This review contributes to the STEAM literature by providing actionable insights for designing effective TPDPs. However, the emergingnature of STEAM research underscores the need for large-scale, high-quality studies to solidify these findings and better align teachertraining with the evolving demands of STEAM education.
Abra-Oloivato et al. (Tue,) studied this question.