A Logistic Regression Model Comparing Astronomy And Non-Astronomy Teachers In Québec’s Elementary Schools

Abstract

Based on the results of an online survey of 500 Québec’s elementary (K-6) teachers conducted in 2015 that probed the way respondents teach astronomy to their classrooms, their background in S&T, their pre-service education, their aims and goals for astronomy teaching, their attitude toward teaching astronomy, the resources and materials they use, their view on the effectiveness of pre- and in-service training, and their need for in-service training, we present a logistic regression model comparing elementary teachers in our survey that teach astronomy to their class (“Astronomy” teachers, N = 244) and those who don’t (“Non-astronomy” teachers, N = 256), to reveal factors that seem to facilitate or hinder astronomy teaching in Québec’s elementary classrooms. Based on the model, several ways to enhance the teaching of astronomy in Québec’s K-6 classrooms are proposed: offer high-quality pre- and in-service training in astronomy to elementary teachers, raise the profile of science teaching in elementary schools, and help teachers realize the importance of teaching astronomy in their classrooms to cover the curriculum standards.

La relation entre l’attitude envers la science et son enseignement en classe de personnes enseignantes au primaire et leur utilisation d’un organisme de promotion de la culture scientifique et technologique

“…Dans son dernier bilan, le CSE constatait que « la science demeure, encore aujourd'hui et dans bien des écoles, une discipline passablement délaissée » (CSE, 2013, p. 2). Cette situation s'expliquerait en partie par la perception qu'ont de nombreuses personnes enseignantes du primaire que l'enseignement de la ST est complexe et exige du temps, du matériel et des connaissances disciplinaires qui leur font défaut (Chastenay, 2018 ;Chastenay et Riopel, 2019). Il en résulterait un déplaisir et un inconfort marqués face à l'enseignement de la ST (Chastenay, 2018 ;Chastenay et Riopel, 2019 ;Hasni, 2005), menant à un désintérêt et à un désengagement plus ou moins importants (Avraamidou, 2014 ;Bleicher, 2007 ;Carrier et al, 2017 ;King et al, 2001), ainsi qu'à une attitude généralement négative envers cette matière et son enseignement (Akerson et Flanigan, 2000 ;Goodrum et al, 2001 ;Jarvis et Pell, 2004 ;Palmer, 2004 ;Walma van der Molen et al, 2010).…”

PD Days Under the Moon: Teaching Lunar Phases to In-Service Teachers by Doing Astronomy Like Astronomers Do and its Impact on Their Students’ Learning

“…For example, in the United States, the sixth edition of the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME+) found that a majority of elementary teachers still mainly use science textbooks to teach science in their classroom (Banilower et al, 2018;Plumley, 2019), a result that has remained more or less constant over the last 40 years (see http://horizon-research.com/NSSME/). Similar results were found by Rowell and Ebbers (2004) in Alberta, Canada, and across four decades by the Conseil supérieur de l 'éducation 1982;1990;2013 in Québec, Canada. A recent survey conducted by the author with 638 elementary teachers found that most teachers use textbooks and exercise books almost exclusively to teach science to their students, thus transforming the study of science content into a reading and writing exercise (Chastenay, 2014(Chastenay, , 2018Chastenay and Riopel, 2019).…”