Pre-service Teachers’ Conceptions of the Nature of Science and their Attitudes toward NOS Instruction: Implications for Course Development
Aigi Kikkas
Institute of Education, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Regina Soobard
Center for Science Education, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Jack Holbrook
Center for Science Education, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Miia Rannikmäe
Center for Science Education, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Abstract
Conceptualizing the nature of science (NOS) is a crucial component of science education, as it facilitates students’ comprehension of how scientific knowledge is developed. Unfortunately, teachers can themselves hold inaccurate views of NOS or assume students can infer NOS ideas from instruction or by undertaking experiments. Building on previous research, this study explores how pre-service primary school teachers conceive NOS and their readiness and attitudes toward teaching NOS in primary school (grades 1-4). Data collected from future primary school teachers using the “Views on Science Education (VOSE)” instrument tend to align with previous studies, indicating that future primary school teachers generally hold positive attitudes toward the need to conceptualize NOS, but continue to belief in a single, universal scientific method, the idea that scientific theories and laws are discovered and the notion that science is entirely objective. Based on these findings, a restructured pre-service science education course is proposed.
