An examination of elementary and early childhood pre-service teachers' nature of science views

KAYA S.

4th World Conference on Educational Sciences (WCES), Barcelona, Spain, 2 - 05 February 2012, vol.46, pp.581-585 identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Volume: 46
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.165
  • City: Barcelona
  • Country: Spain
  • Page Numbers: pp.581-585
  • Kocaeli University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study investigated pre-service early childhood and elementary teachers' Nature of Science (NOS) views through the VNOS-C questionnaire and interviews. Participants were 166 pre-service teachers, 65 from Early Childhood and 101 from Elementary Education program who had completed their third year in the program, from a large public university in northwestern Turkey. Elementary Education majors received more science courses and explicit NOS instruction. Findings showed that pre-service teachers in both programs held several misconceptions regarding NOS. These results indicate that taking more science courses, even explicit instruction, may not be sufficient for improved NOS views.