An Examination of Elementary and Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers' Nature of Science Views

This study investigated pre-service early childhood and elementary teachers’ Nature of Science (NOS) views through the VNOS-C questionnaire and interviews. Participants were 166 pre-service teachers, 65 from Early Childhood and 101 from Elementary Education program who had completed their third year in the program, from a large public university in northwestern Turkey. Elementary Education majors received more science courses and explicit NOS instruction. Findings showed that pre-service teachers in both programs held several misconceptions regarding NOS. These results indicate that taking more science courses, even explicit instruction, may not be sufficient for improved NOS views