During the past decade, early childhood teachers have been faced with new needs to develop their content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for different science subject areas. In order to meet these challenges there is a strong need for professional learning programmes for early childhood teachers that focus on the development of…

This study investigated the predictive ability of an intentional learning model in the change of preservice early childhood teachers' conceptual understanding of lunar phases. Fifty-two preservice early childhood teachers who were enrolled in an early childhood science methods course participated in the study. Results indicated that the use…

This study focuses on the improvement of pre-service teachers' self-efficacy for teaching science by including science courses within the teacher training program. Knowing how efficacy beliefs change over time and what factors influence the development by pre-service primary teachers of positive science teaching efficacy beliefs may be useful for…

This paper presents the results of a study conducted with second grade students and pre-service teachers. This study examined the possibilities for engaging children in critical discourse about their classroom science experiences. At the heart of this discussion lies the desire to provide a space for teachers and children to develop relationships…

This study explores how elementary teachers perceive and use "engaging oral strategies" (i.e., manners of speaking that encourage students to participate and become engaged in science discussions). It is reported that the strategies employed as well as their frequency varied substantially depending upon on the teachers' grade level and…