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STEAM Education for an Innovative Approach to Sustainability

istry Study Programme and the Environmental Protection and Ecology Study
Programme, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; FG4 – third-year
students of the Preschool Education Study Programme, Faculty of Philoso-
phy; FG5 – third-year students of the Fine Arts Study Programme, Academy
of Arts.
Followingthetranscription ofaudio recordings,thedatawereanalysedus-
ing thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), adopting a deductive approach.
Thematic categories were pre-determined based on existing literature, the
aims of the study, and the structure of the focus group protocol. A deductive
strategy was deemed appropriate given the clearly defined thematic areas
of interest (e.g. awareness, attitudes, challenges, applicability), which were
consistent with the theoretical foundations and prior empirical findings on
STEAM in education. This approach also allowed for systematic comparison
across participant groups and identification of patterns within the defined
thematic framework.
The final coding matrix comprised six main themes, each containing sub-
categories and illustrative participant quotes. Thematic synthesis was devel-
opedthrough iterativereading,categorisation ofresponses,andcross-group
comparison.
The study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards for social
research. All participants were informed about the purpose of the study, the
data processing procedures, and the guarantee of anonymity. Participation
and audio recording of the discussions were entirely voluntary, and data
were used exclusively for scientific analysis.

Results and Discussion
The results of the qualitative analysis of student attitudes, presented below,
are interpreted as reflections of their understanding and perception of the
STEAM approach within higher education. The analysis of focus group data
enables the identification of key factors influencing the acceptance and im-
plementation of this transdisciplinary model.

Thematic Analysis of Focus Group Participants’ Responses on the STEAM
Approach

1. Awareness and Understanding of the STEAM Approach (level of aware-
ness and conceptual understanding):
FG1 ‘I heard about the STEAM approach during some lectures.’
FG1 ‘The STEAM approach is quite different from the traditional meth-

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