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Science education in an urban elementary school: Case studies of teacher beliefs and classroom practices
Author(s) -
King Ken,
Shumow Lee,
Lietz Stephanie
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/1098-237x(200103)85:2<89::aid-sce10>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , mathematics education , perspective (graphical) , science education , pedagogy , psychology , primary education , set (abstract data type) , teacher education , mathematics , paleontology , geometry , computer science , biology , programming language
Through a case study approach, the state of science education in an urban elementary school was examined in detail. Observations made from the perspective of a science education specialist, an educational psychologist, and an expert elementary teacher were triangulated to provide a set of perspectives from which elementary science instruction could be examined. Findings revealed that teachers were more poorly prepared than had been anticipated, both in terms of science content knowledge and instructional skills, but also with respect to the quality of classroom pedagogical and management skills. Particularly significant, from a science education perspective, was the inconsistency between how they perceived their teaching practice (a “hands‐on,” inquiry‐based approach) and the investigator‐observed expository nature of the lessons. Lessons were typically expository in nature, with little higher‐level interaction of significance. Implications for practice and the associated needs for staff development among urban elementary teachers is discussed within the context of these findings. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 85: 89–110, 2001.