The history of science is rich in examples of the importance of theories and hypotheses. Among the various disciplines of science, theories and hypotheses have been important in guiding research, including such large ideas as the atomic theory, theory of evolution, laws of motion in physics, and plate tectonics. One of the major ways science progresses is to gather evidence in relation to theories and hypotheses and to refine our explanations of how natural events occur both at very small scales of space and time or at the level of the universe. This dissertation research focused on understanding science teachers' conceptual models about theories, and the use of corroborating evidence based on a critical rationalist stance in science. The study explored a sample of science teachers' level of understanding of critical rationalism, and issues in modeling science within a `critical rationalist', post-positivist framework. During the initial phase of the research, a pilot study was done to gather contextual evidence obtained from a sample of teachers' views on the nature of science (NOS) who responded to an online questionnaire. Subsequently, a more comprehensive study based on the findings from this initial pilot study was done. In the subsequent more comprehensive study, an online learning module on NOS, containing core concepts within a critical rational stance, was presented to a second sample of pre- and in-service teachers. This module specifically focused on how theories are initiated and rigorously tested under the highest risk conditions within a critical rationalist model. It also explained why this is a more productive approach than an exclusively verificationist cognitive framework underlying some logical positivist approaches. The results of a pretest, and post-test assessment, following the completion of the online learning module, provided robust evidence that the teachers who initially demonstrated significantly weak understandings of a critical rational stance improved to a level where they reached a preset benchmark level of accomplishment established by the researcher prior to the online intervention. The pretest results of the comprehensive study also aligned well with the results of the pilot study. That is, science teachers' pre-learning views on scientific theories and experimentation fall mostly within inductive verification-based models, more closely aligned with a positivistic worldview, outside of a contemporary critical rationalist view of a hypothetico-deductive or falsification approach. In this study, a convenient and reliable method of online learning and associated assessment instruments regarding critical rationalist understanding of NOS is presented and evaluated. The evaluation of the pre- and post-learning assessments, and analyses of questionnaire responses by the participants, showed that the use of the online learning module significantly improved science teachers' cognitive understandings of the nature of science, and that the learners generally reported favorable responses about the learning experiences based on quantitative and qualitative evidence. Based on this initial evidence, the online learning module and related assessment instruments appear to be a valuable resource for assessing teacher understanding of a modern critical rational view of science, and as a potentially productive way to introduce pre-service and in-service teachers to these modern views of NOS through application of the online learning module.

Garantir que todas as crianças tenham acesso à educação escolar de qualidade é uma das maiores preocupações no atual cenário social, político e cultural do nosso país. Para que esse objetivo seja atingido, é preciso formar professores bem preparados, capazes de se envolver e participar da formação cultural e cidadã dos alunos. Apesar da importância social do papel do professor, a carreira é pouco atrativa devido a fatores como baixos salários, péssimas condições de trabalho, dentre outros. No entanto, mesmo diante dessa perspectiva desanimadora, existem estudantes que desejam se tornar professores. Na presente pesquisa foram analisados os diálogos de um grupo de estudantes de um curso de Licenciatura em Ciências da Natureza da escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades da Universidade de São Paulo durante uma sessão de grupo focal com o objetivo de identificar alguns dos motivos que os levaram a escolher a profissão docente. As respostas e os diálogos forneceram um rico material para nos aproximar do que pensam estes professores em formação inicial. Inicialmente, elaboramos um questionário para identificar alunos que possuíam o desejo de se tornar professores. O questionário foi respondido por diversos alunos do curso de Licenciatura em Ciências da Natureza. Sete estudantes que expressaram a vontade em seguir a carreira docente foram convidados a participar de um grupo focal. A discussão foi gravada e posteriormente transcrita para análise de dados, que se deu através da análise textual discursiva. Durante o estudo, emergiram nove categorias, que possuíam algumas características em comum. Assim, elas foram agrupadas no que denominamos de domínios: o Individual e o Social. As categorias emergentes do domínio Individual são: reconhecimento - desejo de ser admirado pelos outros; vocação - crença que se possui uma aptidão nata; admiração pela docência - apreço pela profissão; conhecimento - gosto pelo aprendizado; e relação ético/afetiva - prazer na relação com o aluno. As categorias do domínio Social são: relação ético/transformadora - possibilitar que o aluno mude sua própria realidade; política - comprometimento em lutar por uma educação de qualidade e engajar os alunos nas questões políticas; importância para a sociedade - reconhecimento do caráter essencial da profissão em relação a formação de todos os cidadãos; e transformação - potencial de transformar a sociedade. As categorias foram organizadas partindo da mais íntima e pessoal para a mais abrangente e coletiva. Depois, traçamos um paralelo entre as categorias e as regulações do contínuo de motivação da Teoria da Autodeterminação. Concluímos que os licenciandos em Ciências da Natureza que desejam se tornar professores podem possuir diversas regulações que os motivam. Essas regulações podem ser muito individuais ou compreender razões que envolvam o coletivo. A análise dos dados e do estudo dos referenciais teóricos aponta para uma crise de sentido no papel do professor. Os alunos compreendem a importância do professor, entretanto apontam muitos aspectos negativos da carreira. É necessário oferecer melhores salários e condições de trabalho, além de proporcionar uma formação inicial e continuada de qualidade. Assim, é possível aumentar a atratividade da profissão e formar cada vez mais professores comprometidos e empenhados na formação de uma sociedade mais justa e democrática. / Ensuring that all children have access to quality education is a major concern in our country\'s current social, political and cultural scene. In order for this objective to be achieved, it is necessary to train well-prepared teachers capable of becoming involved and participating in the students\' cultural and citizen formation. Despite the social importance of the role of the teacher, the career is unattractive due to factors such as low wages, poor working conditions, among others. However, even in the face of this discouraging prospect, there are students who wish to become teachers. In the present research were analyzed the dialogues of Naturals Sciences degree students\' group of School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities of the University of São Paulo during a focus group session that aimed of identifying some of the reasons that led them to choose the teaching profession. The answers and dialogues provided a rich material that bring us closer to what these teachers in inicial formation think. Initially, we developed a questionnaire that aimed to identify students who had the desire to become teachers. Several students of Natural Sciences degree answered the questionnaire. Seven students who expressed their willingness to start a teaching career were invited to participate in a focus group. The discussion was recorded and later transcribed for data analysis, which occurred through the discursive textual analysis. During the study, nine categories emerged, which of them had some common feature. Thus, they were grouped into what we\'ve called domains: the Individual and the Social. The emergent categories of the Individual domain are: recognition - desire to be admired by others; Vocation - belief that has a natural ability; Admiration for teaching - appreciation for the profession; Knowledge - learning appreciation; And ethical / affective relationship - pleasure in the relationship with the student. The categories of the Social domain are: ethical / transforming relationship - enable the student to change his / her own reality; Policy - commitment to strive for quality education and engaging students in policy issues; Importance to society - recognition of the essential character of the profession in relation to the formation of all citizens; And transformation - the potential of transforming the society. The categories were organized from the most intimate and personal to the most comprehensive and collective. Then we draw a parallel between the categories and the regulations of the motivational continuum of Self-Determination Theory. We conclude that the major students in Natural Sciences that wish to become professors can have several regulations that motivate them. These regulations can be very individual or understand reasons involving the collective. The analysis of the data and the study of the theoretical references points to a crisis of meaning in the teacher\'s role. Students understand the importance of the teacher, however they point out many negative aspects of the career. It is necessary to offer better wages and working conditions, as well as to provide initial and continuing quality training. Thus, it is possible to increase the attractiveness of the profession and to train more and more teachers who are committed to the formation of a more just and democratic society.

Efforts to increase time and opportunity to learn science in urban, underserved elementary schools have focused on improving teachers’ science instruction through school-based professional development. This dissertation examined how the social justice science teacher identities of two co-teachers of color developed and shaped while participating in a yearlong, school-based professional development in science. It also examined how two teachers of color and one White teacher activated the human and nonhuman resources provided by the science professional development to transform or maintain their science teaching practices and understandings. The theoretical frameworks included situated perspective of learning, social justice science teacher identity, social structures as schemas and resources, and the relationship between structure, agency, and science teacher identity. Data collection methods included interviews, teacher questionnaires, researcher field notes, and teacher-created documents, such as science slides and student handouts. Data analysis methods are drawn from grounded theory and multiple case study. The findings suggest that teachers’ experiences, orientations, views, existing identities as teachers and in relation to science, as well as their philosophies of students and learning all influenced how they participated in the science professional development, the meanings they constructed through participation, and the ways their teaching practices changed. Teachers at different phases in their careers also wanted and needed different kinds of PD supports. The findings suggest that science teacher educators who are developing science professional development models and workshops should be cognizant of all of these influencing factors on teacher learning and provide differentiated PD activities to support the various learning needs, identities, and personal and professional goals of elementary teachers.

Science teachers in the United States are not prepared to teach the students in their classrooms. Teachers are most often White females, while the children in their classrooms are from diverse backgrounds. Multicultural pedagogies exist, but teachers must be educated during their teacher preparation courses to understand their own relationship with race before they can enact such pedagogies in their classrooms. This qualitative study sought to examine the lived experiences of eight science education doctoral students in a course called Critical Voices in Teacher Education, through the qualitative method approach of transcendental phenomenology. The participants’ experiences were examined through three theoretical frameworks: transformative learning theory, White racial identity, and racial literacy. Interviews, field notes, and student reflections were used to collect data for this phenomenological study. The findings showed that through the process of critical reflection and group discussion, participants had a transformative experience in which their racial identities developed, and perceptions of students and curriculum shifted to include multicultural pedagogical approaches. The findings from this study supported the idea that teacher education programs must use racial identity development and multicultural curriculum as a foundation for all education programs.

Este estudo de caso buscou identificar e descrever os elementos do ensino de ciências por investigação (EnCI) utilizados por um grupo de sete licenciandos participantes de um programa de formação que possibilitava a aproximação ao EnCI, a vivência de práticas semelhantes às realizadas por docentes em serviço e a inserção em comunidades de professores. Para isso, nove aulas planejadas e ministradas pelos licenciandos em uma turma de 9º ano do ensino fundamental foram gravadas, transcritas e analisadas através da ferramenta Diagnóstica de Elementos do Ensino de Ciências por Investigação (DEEnCI). A análise revelou que os elementos relacionados ao estímulo ao interesse dos alunos na investigação e ao seu engajamento na coleta, registro e análise dos dados; na emissão, justificação e comunicação de conclusões; e no trabalho em grupo estiveram presentes na maioria dos blocos de aulas. Por outro lado, esteve pouco presente ou completamente ausente o envolvimento direto dos alunos com a elaboração de problemas e/ou questões, de hipóteses e/ou previsões e de procedimentos de investigação, bem como com o processo de reflexão a cerca da investigação como um todo ou de etapas específicas. A maioria das investigações foi realizada sem que uma questão fosse a sua norteadora e sem que houvesse uma continuidade do processo investigativo. Na prática da maioria dos elementos presentes, os licenciandos ofereceram espaço para a participação ativa dos estudantes, embora, por vezes, poucos estudantes tenham participado da elaboração de conclusões e explicações e os licenciandos tenham desenvolvido o raciocínio no lugar dos estudantes. A identificação e descrição de elementos do EnCI ajuda revelar possíveis facilidades e problemas que os licenciandos encontram durante a implantação do EnCI. Isso pode auxiliar no desenvolvimento de estratégias de formação de professores mais efetivas na aproximação dos professores em formação inicial ao EnCI. / This case study sought to identify and describe elements of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) used by a group of seven pre-service teachers participating in a training program that enabled approaching to IBSE, experiencing practices similar to those carried out by in-service teachers and inserting into teacher communities. In order to this, nine classes planned and taught by pre-service teachers in elementary school 9th year were recorded, transcribed and analyzed through Inquiry-based Science Education Elements\' Diagnostic (DEEnCI)1 tool. Analysis revealed that the elements related to students\' interest in inquiry and their engagement in data collection, recording and analysis; conclusion utterance, justification and communication; and group work were present in most of classes\' blocks. On the other hand, the direct involvement of students in the elaboration of problems and/or questions, hypotheses and/or predictions and investigation procedures, as well as the process of inquiry reflection as a whole or on specific steps, were rare or completely absent. Most of the inquiries were carried out without a guide question and a continuity of the inquiry process. In the practice of most of the elements, preservice teachers offered space for the students\' active participation, although sometimes few students participated in conclusions and explanations elaboration and pre-service teachers have developed the reasoning in the place of the students. The identification and description of IBSE elements helps to reveal possible facilities and problems that pre-service encounter during IBSE implementation. This may help the development of more effective teacher training strategies in approaching pre-service teachers to IBSE.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This study aimed at exploring the experiences of Social Sciences teachers in secondary schools with regard to the implementation of the evolving curriculum policies in schools. In order for the study to be successful, a comprehensive literature review was done, and not only teachers, but also Curriculum advisors and circuit managers were selected and interviewed for the researcher to gain insight of the daily experiences in schools as they work with teachers on daily basis. The interviewees were from the Capricorn District in Mankweng circuit. The researcher used data collection instruments in a form of questerviews and individual interviews. The instruments were guided by the objectives of the study. The sampling was made in this cluster taking into cognisance its vastness, since it consists of 5 circuits which are Mankweng Circuit, Kgakotlou Circuit, Mamabolo Circuit, Lebopo Circuit and Dimamo Circuit. The total number of schools in all the circuits is 62. The study focused on the chosen high schools which comprised 2 schools per circuit and a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 teachers per school were interviewed. One circuit manager and curriculum advisor were also interviewed in the study. The study’s findings revealed that there is a lack of thorough training. This is in spite of the fact that the department hosts a series of briefings which do not seem to achieve the expected outcomes due to the limited time allocated. In the view of teachers, training serves as a cornerstone for the implementation of the curriculum policies. Findings also showed that teachers were overloaded due to low enrolment as many children prefer schools with a good infrastructure which many rural schools lack. Poor enrolment results in limited teachers who are overloaded as they end up having to teach many subjects. Since teachers are partners in education, the study made recommendations that teachers be given enough training to overcome implementation challenges. Teachers should also further their studies in order to improve their knowledge regarding curriculum changes. The universities should also serve as partners in empowering teachers with policy developments. Lastly, teachers should be assessed more often on curriculum policies to avoid the incorrect implementation of policies

Researchers have shown rural elementary and middle-grade science teachers' inability to integrate STEM career-related lessons into their curricula despite engagement in professional development linked to the teachers' intent-driven beliefs. Researchers, however, have not investigated the influence of intentions on teachers' abilities to integrate STEM career-related lessons into science instruction. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand how intentions impacted rural elementary and middle-grade teachers' ability to integrate STEM career-related lessons during science instruction. Guided by Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior, this study was designed to examine teachers' intentions to integrate STEM career-related lessons during science instruction and the underlying causes of such intentions. In this transcendental phenomenological study, reflective journal entries and interview data were collected through purposeful sampling of 10 rural elementary and middle-grade science teachers. Data were analyzed using a modification of the Van Kaam method of analysis. Findings showed that teachers intended to regularly integrate STEM career-related lessons, but needed more support from their administrators, colleagues, and community partners in fulfilling their intents to integrate STEM career-related lessons. Additional studies are needed for an increased understanding of how teachers in rural areas intend to integrate STEM career-related lessons amid challenges rural teachers face. This study may be of benefit to administrators and teachers who want to unite efforts in constructing a positive climate of integrating STEM career-related lessons during science instruction.

The Science Teachers' Development and Training Centre or STDTC (Pusat Pengembangan dan Penataran Guru Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam or PPPG IPA) is an official in-service science teacher training, which is in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Between 1978 and 1997, an in-service science-teacher training project, which is known as the PKG IPA Project, was developed by the Directorate of General Secondary Education. The successful PKG IPA project implemented its own in-service science teacher training system within its own training network across Indonesia, without the involvement of the PPPG IPA as the existing official teacher-training agent. The existence of the project was discontinued when the World Bank loan ended. Unfortunately, the expensive infrastructures developed by the PKG IPA project could no longer be utilized because the PKG IPA project was excluded from the official structure of organization of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) which is now known as Ministry of National education (MNE). In addition, the ignorance of the staff of the PPPG IPA about the PKG IPA project is one indicator why that the PPPG IPA is facing some problems, which affect the implementation of its duties and functions.Based on this indicator, this study was implemented with two objectives, namely, to investigate and analyze current problems facing the PPPG IPA, and to make recommendations for formulating appropriate policies and strategies in order to rationalize the future roles of the PPPG IPA. The study involved seven research questions, which were grouped into three concerns, namely, the quality of the environment, a needs analysis, and analysis of the Directorate's policies. The seven research questions required different instruments to collect the data. Existing instruments, SLEQ (School Level Environment Questionnaire) and SLEI (Science Laboratory Environment Inventory), ++ / were translated into Indonesian. The researcher developed other instruments. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative research methods and types of data, included various sampling strategy classifications, such as purposeful sampling and opportunistic sampling. The data collecting strategy involved surveys, observations, interviews, and mining documents.The study concluded that the PPPG IPA is facing some current problems related to the aspects of working environment, science laboratory environment, human resources, facilities, policies, and in-service training networking. The study recommended that the Ministry of National Education (MNE) formulate appropriate policies and strategies in order to rationalize the roles of the PPPG IPA in order to strengthen the implementation, and improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the in-service training programs. A new ministerial regulation also is recommended to be released to replace the previous relevant regulations in order to accommodate the above concerns.

Abstract not available

Through a longitudinal study of one teacher's science teaching practice set in the context of her base school, this thesis records the effects of the structural and policy changes that have occurred in Victorian education over the past 6-7 years - the 'Kennett era'. Initially, the purpose of the study was to investigate the teacher's practice with the view to improving it. For this, an action research approach was adopted. Across the year 1998, the teacher undertook an innovative science program with two grades, documenting the approach and outcomes. Several other teachers were involved in the project and their personal observations and comments were to form part of the data. This research project was set in the context of a single primary school and case study methodology was used to document the broader situational and daily influences which affected the teacher's practice. It was apparent soon after starting the action research that there were factors which did not allow for the development of the project along the intended lines. By the end of the project, the teacher felt that the action research had been distorted - specifically there had been no opportunity for critical reflection. The collaborative nature of the project did not seem to work. The teacher started to wonder just what had gone wrong. It was only after a break from the school environment that the teacher-researcher had the opportunity to really reflect on what had been happening in her teaching practice. This reflection took into account the huge amount of data generated from the context of the school but essentially reflected on the massive number of changes that were occurring in all schools. Several issues began to emerge which directly affected teaching practice and determined whether teachers had the opportunity to be self-reflective. These issues were identified as changes in curriculum and the teaching role, increased workload, changed power relations and changed security/morale on the professional context. This thesis investigates the structural and policy changes occurring in Victorian education by reference to documentation and the lived experiences of teachers. It studies how the emerging issues affect the practices of teachers, particularly the teacher-researcher. The case study has now evolved to take in the broader context of the policy and structural changes whilst the action research has expanded to look at the ability of a teacher to be self-reflective: a meta-action research perspective. In concluding, the teacher-researcher reflects on the significance of the research in light of the recent change in state government and the increased government importance placed on science education in the primary context.