Science Teacher Education in South America: The Case of Argentina, Colombia and Chile

Abstract

In this review, the main characteristics of science teacher education in three countries in South America, namely Argentina, Chile and Colombia, are examined. Although reforms toward constructivist and inquiry-based teaching in science instruction have been made in each of the three reviewed countries, each country demonstrates limitations in the implementation of teacher education that aims at those objectives. None of these countries have rigorous selection criteria for candidates for science teacher education programs, although each has some type of certification or test requirement before entry into the public education system is permitted. The three countries have similar teacher training programs, with instruction programs lasting between 4 and 5 years; programs entail both

Toward a Sustainable Future: The Practice of Science Teacher Education for Sustainability

“…In the developing global South (e.g. Columbia, Argentina, and Chile), science instruction is characterized by rote learning of scientifi c content, with a decontextualized presentation of science distinct from everyday life (Cofré et al, 2015 ). In China, where science and education are highly valued, when a new national curriculum was introduced in 2001, the biggest obstacle to implementation was that science teachers did not have the content knowledge or the laboratory skills themselves to guide their students in inquiry projects (Liu, Liu, & Wang, 2015 ).…”

Pre-service Science Teacher Education System in South Korea: Prospects and Challenges

“…The shortage of qualified science teacher is a global problem. Many countries from Latin America (Cofré et al, 2015), Africa (Ogunniyi & Rollnick, 2015), England (Burns, 2013), and China (Liu, Liu, & Wang) are facing this problem. The U.S. Department of Education (2015) also has published a "Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing" since the 1990/1991 school year.…”

Sociocultural Perspectives of Science and Learning: Contributions on Pedagogical Practices on STEM teachers in Service

“…Then again, other studies show that there have been no conclusive changes in the practices yet, and identify decontextualized practices are prevalently focused on the transmission of concepts (Cofré et al, 2015;Gallego R., Perez R.,, & Franco, 2014;Gallego R., Pérez R., Gallego, & Torres N., 2004;Garcia S., Maldonado, Perry, Rodriguez, & Saavedra, 2013;Martínez J. & Benarroch, 2013;Ministerio de Educación Nacional MEN, 2014;Misas, 2004;Torres, Badillo & Miranda, 2006;Vallejo, 2014;Zambrano, 2015;Ortega N., Ordoñez R., Gomez-Vahos J.…”