TY - JOUR
T1 - Primary science education in Australian universities
T2 - An overview of context and practice
AU - Deehan, James
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2021/9/18
Y1 - 2021/9/18
N2 - Stagnating test scores, underwhelming student scientific literacy and declines in post-compulsory science enrolment are major issues in Australian science education. Universities are central in improving science education, as a relatively small group of 33 higher education providers can directly influence generations of primary teachers responsible for foundational science learning. Since this is a major review of primary science practice at Australian universities, factors including, but not limited to, changing employment conditions, shifts in study modes and an ever-expanding research literature base need to be considered in a more contemporary review. This paper aims to describe the reported primary science practices, challenges and strengths of Australian teacher education programs through semi-structured interviews and online surveys with 17 academics and analyses of public materials on university websites. Thematic analyses reveal noteworthy diversity in approaches, united by authenticity and student-centred learning. Key strengths included robustness of educational approaches, relevance and teaching team compositions. Key challenges included time, external pressures, resources and student capacity. These nuanced findings will be discussed as they relate to teaching and research.
AB - Stagnating test scores, underwhelming student scientific literacy and declines in post-compulsory science enrolment are major issues in Australian science education. Universities are central in improving science education, as a relatively small group of 33 higher education providers can directly influence generations of primary teachers responsible for foundational science learning. Since this is a major review of primary science practice at Australian universities, factors including, but not limited to, changing employment conditions, shifts in study modes and an ever-expanding research literature base need to be considered in a more contemporary review. This paper aims to describe the reported primary science practices, challenges and strengths of Australian teacher education programs through semi-structured interviews and online surveys with 17 academics and analyses of public materials on university websites. Thematic analyses reveal noteworthy diversity in approaches, united by authenticity and student-centred learning. Key strengths included robustness of educational approaches, relevance and teaching team compositions. Key challenges included time, external pressures, resources and student capacity. These nuanced findings will be discussed as they relate to teaching and research.
KW - Initial teacher education
KW - Primary
KW - Science
KW - University
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115165170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1007/s11165-021-10026-6
DO - 10.1007/s11165-021-10026-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 34565949
AN - SCOPUS:85115165170
SP - 1
EP - 25
JO - Research in Science Education
JF - Research in Science Education
SN - 0157-244X
ER -