A longitudinal investigation of the science teaching efficacy beliefs and science experiences of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers

Preservice teachers’ self-efficacy to teach primary science based on ‘science learner’ typology

“…This instrument has been used in various studies (Bleicher, 2009;Cantrell et al, 2003;Mulholland et al, 2004) with results supporting the validity and reliability of both constructs, with the original authors reporting Cronbach's ∝ coefficients of 0.90 and 0.76 for the PSTE and STOE constructs respectively (Enochs & Riggs, 1990). The same modified STEBI-B as used by Deehan et al (2017) also reported Cronbach's α coefficients of 0.88 for PSTE construct and 0.87 for STOE constructs.…”

“…This instrument measured the two constructs of self-efficacy on a 5-point Likert scale (Burns, 2000). These constructs are Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Belief (PSTE), measuring participants' belief in their own ability to teach science effectively (Deehan et al, 2017) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE), measuring the participants' broad view of how the teaching of science impacts the pupils' level of learning (Enochs & Riggs, 1990). In the broader study (Norris, 2017), a Pearson's correlation coefficient found there to be a small interaction between the two self-efficacy constructs of STOE and PSTE (r = .260, N = 272, p < .001) indicating these latent constructs act largely independent from each other.…”

“…The focus group data were matched with each individual's survey data, allowing for deeper investigation and validation of interpretation by the researcher when coding (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011;Ogunbameru, 2003). The use of Bleicher's (2009) semantic analysis provided a basis for the identification of similar themes and served as a test of validity (Deehan et al, 2017). Using Bleicher's (2009) descriptors the cohort's descriptions of science learning experiences are categorised in Table 1.…”

“…The quality of preservice primary science education is a concern raised by researchers (Appleton, 2003;Deehan, Danaia, & McKinnon, 2017;Hackling, 2014;Velthuis, Fisser, & Pieters, 2014) who examine international science and mathematics global competitiveness via assessment processes Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).…”

“…These statistics could infer a correlation between reduced numbers of teachers with science specialist SCK and PCK and reduced time spent teaching primary science (Martin et al, 2016). Deehan et al (2017) posit that the TIMSS scores continue to suggest that primary teachers in Australia are still "broadly failing to develop the scientific literacy of their students" (p. 2549).…”