Abstract:

Few primary teachers have a background in science beyond GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education), with only 43% of science leaders holding a Level 3 qualification in one science subject (Leonardi et al, 2017). It is known that a lack of science background can lead to confidence issues for teaching the science curriculum (Leonardi et al, 2017; Murica and Pepper, 2018) and this may lead to a reduced experience of science for pupils at this educational stage. To inspire learners to engage with science and raise their aspiration and interest for science study post-16, early experiences, and the development of science capital (Archer et al, 2015) are key.

This contribution discusses the impact of a one-year focussed professional development programme for primary teachers which aimed to provide them with the skills to deliver inspiring science lessons and empower them to sustain their delivery post project. Working with a cluster of primary school teachers’ regular professional development sessions were held to enhance subject knowledge and thematic schemes of science learning were co-developed using the UN sustainability goals as a focus (https://sdgs.un.org/goals).

A perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) survey, captured at key time points, aimed to measure changes to teachers’ confidence over the course of the programme. This survey was adapted from previously validated questionnaires, to measure confidence and self-efficacy in terms of pedagogy, skills and knowledge and engagement in science lessons (Friedman & Kass, 2002; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). The 11-point Likert scale survey considered confidence levels from 0 = no confidence to 10 = completely confident in the categories. 0-5 are interpreted as lower confidence and 6-10 as higher confidence levels. Initial baseline survey findings indicate the mean teacher confidence levels for pedagogy, skills and knowledge and engagement in science were 5.7 (SD = 1.2, 95% Cl = 0.3); 5.9 (SD = 1.4, 95% Cl = 0.3) and 6.0 (SD = 1.3, 95% Cl = 0.3) respectively. Pupil engagement initial findings indicate that some learners are now discussing science with their parents and how they aspire to become a scientist in the future.

References:
[1] Archer, L., Dawson, E., DeWitt, J., Seakins, A. & Wong, B. (2015). ‘‘Science Capital’’: A Conceptual, Methodological, and Empirical Argument for Extending Bourdieusian Notions of Capital Beyond the Arts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 922–948.
[2] Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28, 117–148.
[3] Friedman, I. A., Kass, E. (2002). Teacher self-efficacy: a classroom-organization conceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 675–686
[4] Leonardi, S., Lamb, H., Howe, P. & Choudhoury, A. (2017). ‘State of the nation’ report of UK primary science education. Available at: https://wellcome.org/reports/state-nation-report-uk-primary-science-education [Accessed 24/02/22]
[5] Murcia, K., & Pepper, C. (2018). Evaluating the social impact of a science centre’s STEM professional learning strategies for teachers. Issues in Educational Research, 28 (2), 438–452
[6] Tschannen-Moran, M. and Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783–805

Keywords:

Primary Teachers, Primary Science, Professional Development, Experiential Learning, Collaborative Learning, STEM, Training Educational Staff, Primary Education.