This research investigated the impact of a professional development program on enhancing fifth-grade environmental science teacher efficacy through place-based education (PBE) practices--the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) Professional Development Training aimed to promote teacher engagement and increase pedagogical content…

There has been an evolution in the teacher professional learning literature on what constitutes effective process. This evolution has seen a shift from a focus on the design elements to the theory of action that integrates and drives these disparate elements to create effective professional learning. This study argues that a focus on a theory of…

Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (2013) put a special emphasis on engineering for K-12 science education. However, a significant number of elementary teachers still feel unprepared to integrate engineering into their science programs. It is, therefore, incumbent upon science educators to update their elementary science methods…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the level of pre-service primary school teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in science teaching and their level of determining taxonomy, strategy, and teaching methods-techniques for the curriculum's objectives in primary science education. A total of 101 pre-service teachers who were…

Research suggests that innovative and engaging professional development is instrumental in supporting teachers in developing their competence and confidence in teaching sustainability. An international initiative was developed to explore whether a competencies-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) professional development model was…

The purpose of this mixed methods research was to investigate the development of 55 preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs through analysis of their reflective practices in a science method course. This year-long study was conducted at two public universities located in the USA and Canada. Within the theoretical…

Critiquing arguments is important for K-12 science students to learn but not emphasized by the predominant claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation model. Drawing on the work of Yu and Zenker (2020), and Dove and Nussbaum (2018), we developed a tool for supplementing CER with critical questions (CQs) from philosophy that cover most, if not…

There is a need for robust, empirically-validated conceptualisations of teachers' attitudes towards teaching science, with a view to understand how these might explain their intention to teach science. The "Dimensions of Attitudes Toward Science" (DAS) theoretical framework suggests that cognitive, affective and perceived control…

This qualitative case study conducted at a small private university in the U.S. found that preservice teacher self-efficacy increased over the course of four semesters when taught inquiry-based instruction from a Social Constructivist Theoretical framework. This study utilized "A Draw a Science Teacher Test Checklist (DASTT-C)" created…

Studies have shown that preservice teachers come to their science methods courses with perceptions about science teaching and learning that can impact their levels of self-efficacy when it comes to teaching science (Bulunuz & Jarrett, 2010; Jarrett, 1999; Kazempour, 2014). Multiple students have been conducted to document the effects of…

Background: Teacher turnover is a dire and chronic problem for many education systems across the globe. According to UNESCO, 70% of teachers will be replaced by 2030. This study investigates the relationship between the retention of science and mathematics teachers and factors related to human, social, structural, and positive psychological…

Teacher efficacy has become an important field of research especially in subjects teachers may find challenging, such as science. This study investigates the sources of teachers' efficacy for teaching science in primary schools in the context of authentic teaching situations with a view to better understanding sources of teachers' efficacy…

Elementary students have limited opportunities to learn science in an outdoor setting at school. Some suggest this is partially due to a lack of teacher efficacy teaching in an outdoor setting. Yet the research literature indicates that outdoor learning experiences develop positive environmental attitudes and can positively affect science…

This quantitative study was designed to investigate if relationships existed between elementary science teachers' self-efficacy toward science teaching, schedule structure (self-contained or departmentalized), experience level of teachers, amount of time dedicated to science instruction, and student achievement on a standardized science…

This study aims to analyse the effects of science teaching practices supported by Web 2.0 tools on prospective elementary school teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy beliefs in using Web 2.0 tools. The study was conducted in pre test-post test quasi-experimental design with no control group, and it was supported with qualitative data. The…