Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Images of Science Teaching in Constructivism Science Education Courses

Hong Kong Institute of Education. 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. Tel: +011-852-2948-7650; Fax: +011-852-2948-7726; e-mail: apfslt@sci.ied.edu.hk; Web site: http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt

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25

Foreign Countries; Early Childhood Education; Preservice Teachers; Self Concept; Science Instruction; Constructivism (Learning); Science Education; Education Courses; Cognitive Tests; Freehand Drawing; Projective Measures; Personality Measures; Science Teachers; Check Lists; Interviews; Questionnaires; Teacher Role; Comparative Education; College Students; Education Majors; Observation; Documentation; Assignments; Data Analysis; STEM Education; Student Teacher Attitudes; Imagery

South Korea; United States

1609-4913

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it investigates the self-images of science teaching held by early childhood pre-service teachers who took constructivism early childhood science education courses. Second, it analyzes what aspects of those courses influenced these images. The participants were eight pre-service teachers who took these courses during the spring semester of 2013 at universities in Korea and the United States. A Draw a Science Teacher Test Checklist (DASTT-C), questionnaires, individual interviews, researchers' field notes, and participants' documents were collected. The results showed that four participants who displayed teacher-centered images before taking the courses changed to child-centered images after the courses. The factors that influenced those images were changed perspectives of a teacher's role and experiences of constructivism-based science teaching for young children. The other four pre-service teachers who held child-centered images before the course solidified child-centered images after the course. The influences on those images were learner-centered learning experiences and experiences with constructivism-based science teaching for young children. This result implies that early childhood science education should provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to reconstruct their own views about science teaching in order to learn and teach based on constructivism.

As Provided

25

2016

EJ1096101