Immersive-learning experiences in real-life contexts: deconstructing and reconstructing Vietnamese kindergarten teachers’ understanding of STEAM education

This paper presents a unique perspective into challenges faced by kindergarten teachers in engaging children in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education in Vietnam. It reports on teachers’ perspectives of an adaptation of immersive learning experiences (ILE), to develop understanding of pedagogical approaches to STEAM education in real-world contexts. The study adopted a qualitative and interpretivist methodology, engaging 105 teachers in informal and collaborative activities. Their perceptions were gathered via participatory tools; photographic images recorded how they engaged with ILE. Data analysis occurred using de Freitas’s four-dimensional framework. The study responds to evidence that STEAM education is not prevalent in Vietnamese schools, and reflects on the top-down siloed approach ubiquitous within its early childhood education (ECE) sector. Findings indicate the necessity for a prolonged period of training using ILE that enables teachers’ development of pedagogical approaches to STEAM education. Significantly, it provides new insight for a variety of stakeholders (including teacher trainers and policy makers) into the under-researched field of Vietnamese teachers’ pedagogical approaches in ECE, and extends its findings to countries adopting more formalised approaches to education.