Because of increasing calls for school accountability, an increased emphasis placed on the role of the teacher, and theoretical connections between teacher beliefs and classroom action, a critical need exists to examine teacher professional development programs to determine their impact on teacher belief systems, teaching practices, and student…

In a mixed-methods study, the authors investigate teacher typologies of elementary teachers (N = 132) in the United States based on their reformed science teaching beliefs. Additionally, the identified teacher typologies were compared with respect to their science content knowledge, self-efficacy and epistemic beliefs. Results revealed three…

Elementary teachers are criticized for failing to incorporate meaningful science instruction in their classrooms or avoiding science instruction altogether. The lack of adequate science instruction in elementary schools is partially attributed to teacher candidates' anxiety, poor content and pedagogical preparation, and low science teaching…

This study investigated the extent to which teacher professional development led to changes in science instruction in K-2 classrooms in rural school districts. The research specifically examined changes in (a) teachers' content knowledge in science; (b) teachers' self-efficacy related to teaching science; (c) classroom instructional time allotted…

This study examined the extent to which significant changes after one year of a longitudinal, state-funded teacher professional development program were sustained during the second year. Participants taught in elementary schools located in small, rural school districts in the state of California in the United States. The research examined changes…

Data science and computational thinking (CT) skills are important STEM literacies necessary to make informed daily decisions. In elementary schools, particularly in rural areas, there is little instruction and limited research towards understanding and developing these literacies. Using a Research-Practice Partnership model (RPP; Coburn &…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Literacy-Infused Science Using Technology Innovation Opportunity (LISTO) validation project (Valid 45). LISTO was funded by the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund and involved a multi-year intervention that provided virtual professional development and coaching, and literacy-infused science curricula to…

As K-12 computer science education mandates rapidly evolve across America, government officials, technology industry executives, and school leaders recognize such efforts' intellectual and economic importance. Specifically in Tennessee, a unanimous vote from the Tennessee General Assembly resulted in the passage of Chapter 979 of the Public Acts…

Teacher self-efficacy is the belief in the ability to impact students' success. There is limited research about teachers' self-efficacy levels in the virtual K-12 environment. Self-efficacy may play a key role in job satisfaction, teacher retention, and higher student achievement. Research literature focused on teaching preparation programs and…

Elementary teachers in one school system have expressed low self-efficacy teaching science and desire more support teaching science. However, little research has been conducted on how best to meet these teachers' needs. The theories of perceived self-efficacy, social cognition, and behaviorism make up the conceptual framework of this study. The…

This study focuses on attitudes toward (teaching) science and the learning of science for primary school among pre-service teachers at the Open University of Indonesia. A three-year longitudinal survey was conducted, involving 379 students as pre-service teachers (PSTs) from the Open University in Surabaya regional office. Attitudes toward…

The self-efficacy of prospective primary teachers was studied, considering in particular the relationship of that construct with the emotions they expect to experience as future science teachers, differentiating between when they will be teaching the content of the "nature sciences" (biology and geology) and that of the "hard…

This study investigated comprehensive science teaching belief systems and their relation to science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and teaching practices. Rokeach's (1968) belief system was used as a framework for representing the hierarchy among in-service teachers' teaching beliefs. This study employed a multiple case study design with…

This study examined the impact of a recently revised science course that engaged preservice teachers in a scaffolded, student-directed inquiry unit on local streams. Upon the completion of the inquiry project, the teacher candidates in the stream study classes demonstrated significantly greater improvement in the personal science teaching efficacy…

Conderman and Sheldon Woods (2008) suggest that although science plays a central role in our world today, science instruction seems to be minimized particularly at the elementary grade levels. Research has investigated the construct of efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 2006a; Riggs & Enochs, 1990; Ramey-Gassert, Shroyer & Staver, 1996;…