Children's literature didactics and reading promotion in STEAM projects: Effects of a transdisciplinary training program for early childhood and primary school teachers

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of an online course for integrating children's literature didactics and reading promotion into transdisciplinary STEAM education projects. The intervention was based on the design and validation of the TALES-STEAM scale. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design, five experiential modules, focusing on storytelling, engineering, science, mathematical comics, narrative robotics, and picturebooks were delivered to a sample of 2,136 in-service early childhood and primary education teachers from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador, selected through a mixed non-probability sampling. Post-intervention results revealed a statistically significant increase in all items, with large effect sizes and no overlap between pre- and post-distributions. Participants reported enhanced creativity, mathematical accessibility, scientific inquiry, aesthetic-technical balance, and inclusive practices, positioning literature as the central axis for transdisciplinary pedagogies. Given the program's demonstrated effectiveness and the feasibility of adopting STEAM frameworks that transcend mere disciplinary juxtaposition, future research should replicate these findings through controlled experimental designs and longitudinal follow-ups to confirm the stability of attitudinal change and its transferability to classroom practice.