ERIC Number: EJ1249926
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: N/A
Personal, Professional, Political: An Exploration of Science Teacher Identity Development for Teaching Climate Change
Environmental Education Research, v26 n4 p611-612 2020
Climate change presents societal and environmental challenges, as well as educational ones. Obstacles abound within teaching and learning climate change, related to its complex nature, the proliferation of misinformation, and its absence from many science curricula. Efforts have previously been made to study teacher content knowledge and beliefs on climate change with varying results. This study employed identity as a theoretical framework to examine aspects of climate change teaching. This study followed a reflexively iterative process that enabled the construction of a conceptual model for identity development. This model demonstrates multifaceted influences including personal, professional, and political elements, and the dynamism these elements exhibit over time. This conceptual model is best described via five trends: Personal Valuation of Nature; Experiences in Science Teaching and Learning; Teacher Instructional Support and Agency; Epistemic Evidence-based Instruction; and Civic and Social Awareness via Socioscientific Literacy. The presence and strength of enactment of each trend led to the development of four possible constructions of identity: Passionate Environmentalist, Student Interest Engager, Content First Educator, and Civic and Epistemic Skills Promoter. Most frequently teachers exhibited combinations of identities and often created a unique amalgam of multiple dimensions of identities in action.
Descriptors: Science Teachers, Self Concept, Climate, Teaching Methods, Professional Identity, Models, Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, Political Attitudes, Science Instruction
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A