Abstract:
Shortcomings in primary school science learning are often attributed to deficiencies in teacher knowledge and beliefs about science and science pedagogical content knowledge. However, some recent research suggests that teachers’ already well-developed beliefs about three other, more generic domains (namely, about students, the purposes of science education, and the purposes of education itself) are also highly influential on their science teaching practice and should be more highly esteemed and applied in science teacher education. A key step in this direction is for educators to make often implicitly held beliefs explicit, thereby facilitating reflection and critique. This paper describes the development and trialling of a professional development strategy for primary teachers, based on experiences in a parallel tertiary-based project. This strategy has been developed for use by small groups of primary teachers, to identify and share their beliefs (both espoused and in-action) about five domains: the purposes of education in general, students and their learning, the nature of science, the purposes of science education, and the nature of science teaching and learning. Future prospects include the ongoing refinement of the strategy to enhance individual and collective professional development.
