Primary Science Education in Australian Universities: An Overview of Context and Practice

Abstract

Stagnating test scores, underwhelming student scientific literacy and declines in post-compulsory science enrolment are major issues in Australian science education. Universities are central in improving science education, as a relatively small group of 33 higher education providers can directly influence generations of primary teachers responsible for foundational science learning. Since this is a major review of primary science practice at Australian universities, factors including, but not limited to, changing employment conditions, shifts in study modes and an ever-expanding research literature base need to be considered in a more contemporary review. This paper aims to describe the reported primary science practices, challenges and strengths of Australian teacher education programs through semi-structured interviews and online surveys with 17 academics and analyses of public materials on university websites. Thematic analyses reveal noteworthy diversity in approaches, united by authenticity and student-centred learning. Key strengths included robustness of educational approaches, relevance and teaching team compositions. Key challenges included time, external pressures, resources and student capacity. These nuanced findings will be discussed as they relate to teaching and research.

Australian teachers’ views on how primary science education can be improved

“…The absence of mainstay themes in education research within participants' responses was also noteworthy as Time (e.g., AITSL, 2021;Crump, 2005;Jenkinson & Benson, 2010), Cross Curricular Integration (e.g., Gresnigt et al, 2014;Rennie et al, 2018), Specialist Science Teachers (e.g., Ardzejewska et al, 2010;Levy et al, 2016;Mills et al, 2020;Roach & Wendt, 2022), School-University Partnerships (e.g., Hobbs et al, 2018;Kenny et al, 2014) and Preservice Science Education (Deehan, 2017(Deehan, , 2021(Deehan, , 2022 were not widely identified as key factors in the ongoing improvement of Australian primary science education. While a sampling error or methodological limitations could explain the relative paucity of these themes, they could also be an extension of the previously mentioned internal locus of control expressed by teachers as they view themselves, rather than universities or specialist teachers, as being central to the improvement of primary science education.…”

“…This may suggest that teachers are not aware of the role that universities could play in supporting primary science teachers, which is unsurprising because most preservice primary science PD programs, such as Primary Connections, are offered by separate government or private institutions. Perhaps universities could extend their strong primary science initial teacher education programs (Deehan, 2021(Deehan, , 2022Fitzgerald et al, 2021) into accessible micro credentials that provide teachers with the support they desire whilst maintaining the long-term viability of university ITE programs in the wake of the Covid-19 era (e.g., Gore et al, 2021).…”

“…A systematic review of 29 research articles found that teacher confidence, limited equipment, adjusting existing learning progressions, and student disengagement all present considerable challenges to inquiry teaching in science classrooms that serve to exacerbate other systemic challenges (Akuma & Callaghan, 2019). Also, despite recent reports of primary teachers engaging their students through studentcentred and active science teaching approaches (ACARA, 2013(ACARA, , 2019Banilower et al, 2018;Banilower, 2019), teachers can have limited science content knowledge and interest (Appleton, 1992(Appleton, , 2003Deehan, 2022;Murphy & Smith, 2012) which can diminish the quality of science education (Goodrum & Rennie, 2007;Watters, 2014). Research has shown that primary teachers often hold similar alternative science conceptions to primary learners, including the false belief that the absence of motion denotes the absence of force (Narjaikaew, 2013) and incorrectly attributing the Earth's magnetic field to gravity or its revolution around the Sun (Dahl et al, 2005).…”

“…Clearly, more needs to be done to translate the expansive evidence base of primary science teaching practices into improved teaching practice and student outcomes. Although Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs have made promising strides in adapting their primary science programs to reflect inquiry-based and student-centred science teaching (Deehan, 2021(Deehan, , 2022Fitzgerald et al, 2021), the university sector does not reflect the unique and pressing challenges of the primary education sector. Accordingly, this paper seeks to draw on the perspectives of current Australian primary teachers about how they believe primary science education can be improved.…”