From Collaboration to Integration: How a Community of Practice Supports Public School Teachers’ Understanding of Integrated STEAM Education

Integrated science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (i-STEAM) education has been recognized for its potential to promote interdisciplinary learning and connect scientific knowledge to socially relevant contexts. However, its implementation in school practices remains limited, often owing to conceptual ambiguities and a lack of sustained support for teachers. This study examines the role of participation in a community of practice (CoP) in facilitating the adoption of i-STEAM principles by public school teachers through collaborative lesson planning. Drawing on meeting transcripts, documents produced during the process, and interviews with participants, the analysis focused on the constitution of the CoP, the presence of i-STEAM elements in the teaching proposals, and the level of integration achieved. The results suggest that the CoP supported the development of more coherent and context-sensitive understandings of i-STEAM, while also promoting interdisciplinary design across diverse educational levels. These findings may also inform initiatives in other public education systems facing similar structural conditions, such as limited resources, disciplinary fragmentation, and restricted opportunities for collaborative curriculum development. The study highlights the value of CoPs as professional learning strategies and proposes a replicable analytical approach for evaluating how teachers engage with integrative pedagogies. Implications for teacher education and policy are discussed.