Conceptual change research and science education practice: a response from educators

We discuss the eight papers in this issue of Cultural Studies of Science Education focusing on the debate over conceptual change in science education and explore the issues that have emerged for us as we consider how conceptual change research relates to our practice as science educators. In presenting our interpretations of this research, we consider the role of participants in the research process and contextual factors in conducting research on science conceptions, and draw implications for the teaching of science.

Promoting science and technology in primary education: a review of integrated curricula

Integrated curricula seem promising for the increase of attention on science and technology in primary education. A clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of integration efforts could help curriculum innovation. This review has focused on integrated curricula in primary education from 1994 to 2011. The integrated curricula were categorised according to a taxonomy of integration types synthesised from the literature. The characteristics that we deemed important were related to learning outcomes and success/fail factors. A focus group was formed to facilitate the process of analysis and to test tentative conclusions. We concluded that the levels in our taxonomy were linked to (a) student knowledge and skills, the enthusiasm generated among students and teachers, and the teacher commitment that was generated; and (b) the teacher commitment needed, the duration of the innovation effort, the volume and comprehensiveness of required teacher professional development, the necessary teacher support and the effort needed to overcome tensions with standard curricula. Almost all projects were effective in increasing the time spent on science at school. Our model resolves Czerniac’s definition problem of integrating curricula in a productive manner, and it forms a practical basis for decision-making by making clear what is needed and what output can be expected when plans are being formulated to implement integrated education.     

Individual to collaborative: guided group work and the role of teachers in junior secondary science classrooms

This paper, through discussion of a teaching intervention at two secondary schools in Hong Kong, demonstrates the learning advancement brought about by group work and dissects the facilitating role of teachers in collaborative discussions. One-hundred and fifty-two Secondary Two (Grade 8) students were divided into three pedagogical groups, namely ‘whole-class teaching’, ‘self-directed group work’ and ‘teacher-supported group work’ groups, and engaged in peer-review, team debate, group presentation and reflection tasks related to a junior secondary science topic (i.e. current electricity). Pre- and post-tests were performed to evaluate students’ scientific conceptions, alongside collected written responses and audio-recorded discussions. The results indicate that students achieved greater cognitive growth when they engaged in cooperative learning activities, the interactive and multi-sided argumentative nature of which is considered to apply particularly well to science education and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development framework. Group work learning is also found to be most effective when teachers play a role in navigating students during the joint construction of conceptual knowledge.     

Initial epistemological beliefs transformation in one teacher education classroom: Case study of four preservice teachers

Education literature suggests that preservice teachers hold similar initial beliefs, viewing the teacher as the authority figure passing knowledge to the students. In consistency with constructivist practice, these beliefs should be challenged to enable the preservice teachers to develop alternative ideas, seeing the students capable of constructing knowledge with the help of the teacher. These beliefs are found difficult to change in the course environment. Drawing on surveys and teaching observations from four preservice teachers in an introduction methods course, the study showed that the four participants had different epistemological beliefs, some beliefs being more resistant to change than others.     

From the contribution to the action approach: White teachers' experiences influencing the development of multicultural science curricula

In this exploratory case study, we sought to understand teacher's integration of multicultural curricula in science curriculum units, and how personal experiences influenced the level of integration in light of Bank's typology of ethnic content integration into school curricula. Five research participants volunteered and were selected so as to be representative of the demographic of pre‐service and in‐service teachers in the southern United States. The aim was to explore teachers' personal experiences with cultural others that either facilitated or impeded their adoption of multicultural curricula strategies in science curricula units. Case narratives present and discuss interview data and assigned curricula projects. Findings suggest that participants who had transformative cultural experiences and who identified as the marginalized cultural other, transformed science curricula at higher levels of Bank's typology for curricula' multicultural approaches. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1271–1295, 2012     

The use of evidence-based instructional strategies in special education settings in secondary schools: Development,implementation and outcomes

The lack of effective training and an inability to maintain fidelity are two major barriers to implementing evidence-based practices in schools. This study examined the level of implementation of evidence-based practices by teachers after they participated in a unique training program aimed at enhancing the use of evidence-based practices. The results indicate that five months posttraining, 62% of the evidence-based strategies had been implemented and these levels were maintained 13-months posttraining. While the level of exposure to students of the evidence-based practices was low, significant longitudinal improvements in reading and levels of inclusion were documented.     

Now and then,in and out of the classroom: Teachers learning to teach through the experiences of their living curricula

How, when, and where do teachers learn to teach? Guided by this question, this article examines the relationships between teachers' living and teaching experiences. Through narrative inquiry, it stories “curricular currents” of three teachers from different teaching contexts, noting the continuity, interaction, and place of the experiences that comprise these currents. It argues that these teachers have learned to teach through their “living curricula,” across all times and places of their lives, not just classroom moments. It concludes by charging teacher education to attend closely to teachers' exploration and analysis of their lives' experiences, in and out of classrooms.     

Reading for meaning: The foundational knowledge every teacher of science should have

Reading is fundamental to science and not an adjunct to its practice. In other words, understanding the meaning of the various forms of written discourse employed in the creation, discussion, and communication of scientific knowledge is inherent to how science works. The language used in science, however, sets up a barrier, that in order to be overcome requires all students to have a clear understanding of the features of the multimodal informational texts employed in science and the strategies they can use to decode the scientific concepts communicated in informational texts. We argue that all teachers of science must develop a functional understanding of reading comprehension as part of their professional knowledge and skill. After describing our rationale for including knowledge about reading as a professional knowledge base every teacher of science should have, we outline the knowledge about language teachers must develop, the knowledge about the challenges that reading comprehension of science texts poses for students, and the knowledge about instructional strategies science teachers should know to support their students’ reading comprehension of science texts. Implications regarding the essential role that knowledge about reading should play in the preparation of science teachers are also discussed here.     

In pursuit of teacher quality in diversity: A study of the selection mechanisms of new secondary teacher education programmes in Taiwan

As the definition of teacher quality changes with time, the selection mechanism of students into teacher education programmes may also change accordingly. In Taiwan, before the 1994 teacher education reform, selection of pre-service students was based solely on academic achievement. Afterwards, the selection was delegated to individual teacher education programmes with varied missions for teacher education. This study examines the degree of diversity and selectivity of the selection mechanisms of these programmes. Data from 48 programmes, including institutional documents, telephone inquiries and governmental reports, were collected and analysed. The results show that the selection mechanisms of these programmes are diverse enough to reflect a variety of characteristics of teacher quality, and rigorous enough to ensure a certain level of quality. Related issues on teacher selection are further discussed.     

‘It will make me a real teacher’: Learning experiences of part time PGCE students in South Africa

The province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has a recent estimate of 8000 unqualified and under-qualified teachers. Some of these teachers have an undergraduate degree, but do not have a professional qualification. In order to become professionally qualified, teachers with a degree must complete a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), which is traditionally a programme offered to fulltime ‘pre-service’ student teachers. However, part-time students have already been teaching in schools for some years and thus are in fact ‘in-service’ teachers. They have already gained professional practical knowledge through learning on-the-job. The study aimed to investigate what kind of knowledge they had learnt through experience and how this knowledge changes as a result of their formal learning on the PGCE. The study interviewed twenty part time PGCE students who are already practicing teachers about the kind of professional knowledge they acquired through the formal programme and their perceptions of how their practice changed as a result of this learning. Most of the respondents said that they had changed their teaching practice as a result of studying for the PGCE and that pedagogical knowledge about assessment, classroom management and lesson structuring strategies were deemed to be most important. More than half reported that the programme had developed their confidence as a result of both developing personal competence and through becoming a ‘real’ teacher by dint of achieving professional status. This points to the importance of offering teachers with a degree the opportunity to become professionally qualified through a flexibly offered programme.     

The development of knowledge for teaching physical education in secondary schools over the course of a PGCE year

There has been a considerable amount of work on what knowledge student teachers need to develop to become effective teachers. The purpose of this study was to look at the development of knowledge of student physical education teachers in England. Six secondary student physical education teachers completed a journal on a monthly basis throughout their one‐year course. The student teachers and their mentors were interviewed in school towards the end of their course in June. Responses were analysed inductively. Results showed that knowledge important to develop, knowledge developed and knowledge which still needs to be developed at the end of the course was all related to content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge which they could apply in the immediate practical teaching situation. The results are discussed in relation to the development of student physical education teachers knowledge for teaching.     

Culturally-inclusive behavior of Filipino teachers in international schools in the Philippines: Perspectives of international education in a developing country

The study explored the culturally inclusive behavior of Filipino teachers using information culled from interviews of six Filipino teachers in international schools on their perception of international education, and how it translates into their pedagogy. The findings of the study reveal inherent patterns of behavior the teachers manifest in handling a multicultural classroom, the factors that affect them as well as the unique dynamics that play out in the interactivity between teachers from a developing country and foreign students from a more economically affluent nation. The study brings to the fore an underlying challenge in the handling of international education by non-western developing countries such as the Philippines and at the same time contributes further to the context of established theories on international education such as the Diversity Pedagogy Theory of Sheets (2005).     

Understanding teacher learning in secondary education: The relations of teacher activities to changed beliefs about teaching and learning

In this study, relations between learning activities of teachers and changes in their beliefs were examined. Thirty-four teachers in Dutch secondary education were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their beliefs about teaching and learning on two occasions. They were also asked to report on learning activities that they undertook. Teachers who had changed their beliefs in a direction congruent with the aims of recent educational reforms often reported experimentation with colleagues' teaching methods. Teachers who changed their beliefs in a direction that was not congruent with the reform often reported experimentation with alternative methods due to discontent with the effectiveness of current methods.     

做人教育：21世纪中国大学教育新兴理念与重要使命

教育是教人做人的，教育的终极目的是以教人“成人”为旨归。面向21世纪的高等教育，不仅要使学生学会做事，更重要的是使其学会做人，这应当成为高等教育的崇高使命，也理应成为教育的真义所在。则目前大学教育中存在的大学生做人素质缺失、科学教育与人文教育失衡、大学教育面临的窘境等不容回避的事实，使得加强大学生的做人教育成为大学教育的当务之急；国际社会特别是高等教育界对做人教育的强烈关注，更加重了推行做人教育的现实性和紧迫性。因而，树立做人教育的理念，推行并加强做人教育，是21世纪中国大学教育应确立的新理念和应完成的新使命。     

The effectiveness of teaching science subjects through English medium: A narrative analysis of teacher experiences and perceptions in Sri Lankan secondary schools

This article analyses four narratives told by four teachers teaching science subjects in four different public secondary schools in the district of Gampaha in Sri Lanka. Gampaha is the second most populous district in Sri Lanka, and is known for excellent results in General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) exams which school leavers sit at the end of the secondary school cycle. The teachers’ narratives focus on the policy and practice of teaching science subjects through English at secondary level, which was reintroduced in a small number of selected government schools in Sri Lanka in 2002. After using the two local languages, Sinhala and Tamil, for nearly half a century, the Sri Lankan education authorities decided to bring back the English medium to the teaching of science subjects at secondary level as a third language option. One of the policymakers’ reasons was an apparent decline in the English-language fluency of students at this level. To implement the new policy, science teachers (who had themselves been taught in Sinhala or Tamil) were asked to teach in English. More than a decade into the English-medium option, the author interviewed four of them. Their testimonies about their experiences in teaching science subjects offer valuable insights into the difficulties experienced by both teachers and students when teaching and learning in a foreign language such as English. The author’s analysis of his respondents’ statements reveals hidden realities which challenge the benefits of reintroducing English as a medium of instruction (MOI) for science subjects. Thus, the lived experiences of the teachers may help to inform language policy in education in Sri Lanka, and perhaps also in other countries.     

20世纪90年代以来我国中等职业教育发展实证研究

20世纪90年代以来，我国的教育结构产生了巨大的变化，尤其是高等教育规模的扩大，专业教育不断高移，引起了教育结构的不断变革，职业教育的发展也受到了相应的影响。本文以教育部发布的教育公报数据为依据，对10多年来我国教育结构中其他层次教育的规模发展变化与我国中等职业教育的发展进行了分析对比，以此探讨我国教育结构的变迁对我国中等职业教育的影响。     

Education for all: Experiences of principals at rural secondary schools in Mpumalanga province

Abstract

This article deals with the challenges in the implementation of education for all as experienced by principals in rural secondary schools in Mpumalanga. Interventions which have been implemented on national and provincial level to improve teaching and learning are not equally successful in schools countrywide. The central phenomenon of interest involved the determination of the management and leadership views of rural secondary school principals concerning their ability to ensure Education for All. A theoretical grounding of the situation was developed through a literature review. Interviews were conducted with principals in rural Mpumalanga to collect empirical data for the research. Two main aspects that emerged from the study, was the impact that change, tradition and culture have on teaching and learning in the rural secondary schools in Mpumalanga.     

“They taught me”: The benefits of early community-based field experiences in teacher education

Research in teacher education suggests that field experiences in community settings can offer pre-service teachers a context for understanding the link between theory and practice. This paper documents the experiences of pre-service educators participating in a service-learning experience at a Children's Defense Fund Freedom School in the south-eastern United States. Pre-service teachers engaged in critical reflection, online journals, and daily debriefing sessions and praised the benefits of a service experience in an urban context and explained how interactions within the programme gave them the insight into the teaching profession. The author argues that this project successfully bridged the gap between teacher education theory and practice.