Reflecting recent policy and standards initiatives, emerging research agendas, and key innovations, this volume provides a contemporary overview of important developments and issues that have that have in recent years shaped elementary science education pre-service courses and professional development, and practices that are shaping future directions in the field. Contributors from several countries who are actively engaged in research and design in elementary science education address: (1) Conceptual issues which impinge on contemporary science teacher education; (2) Intersections of content, pedagogy, and practice; and (3) Professional development as a contextualized practice. This book offers a clear picture of the current state of the field and directions for the future--to the benefit of elementary science teacher educators, aspiring teacher educators, school policymakers, other professionals involved in science education and, ultimately, the millions of elementary school children who will gain from improved practice. Following a foreword, preface, and Framing Issues of Elementary Science Teacher Education: Critical Conversations (S.E. Nichols and T. Koballa), this book is divided into three parts. Part I, Conceptualizing Elementary Science Teacher Education, offers the initial chapters of the book: (1) Being an Elementary Science Teacher Educator (L. B. Flick); (2) Science Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Elementary School Teachers (K. Appleton); (3) Teaching by Distance (W. J. Boone); (4) Challenges and Opportunities for Field Experiences in Elementary Science Teacher Preparation (S. K. Abell); (5) Relating Learning Theories to Pedagogy for Preservice Elementary Science Education (J. Koch); and (6) "Meaning-Making Science": Exploring the Sociocultural Dimensions of Early Childhood Teacher Education (M. Fleer). Part II, Intersections of Content, Pedagogy, and Practice, continues with: (7) Considering Curriculum for Elementary Science Methods Courses (J. K. Olson and K. Appleton); (8) Language, Learning, and Science Literacy (V. Prain and B. Hand); (9) A Standards-Infused Approach to Curriculum: A Promising Interdisciplinary Inquiry (K. C. Wieseman and H. Moscovici); (10) The Role and Place of Technological Literacy in Elementary Science Teacher Education (A. Jones); and (11) Assessment and Elementary Science Teacher Education (C. A. Harrison). Part III, Contextualized Practice and Professional Development, concludes the book with the remaining chapters: (12) Teaching "Science Teaching" through Inquiry (E. H. van Zee); (13) The Elementary Science Teacher as Researcher (V. L. Akerson and A. R. McDuffie); (14) Employing Case-Based Pedagogy within a Reflection Orientation to Elementary Science Teacher Preparation (L. A. Bryan and D. J. Tippins); (15) Models of Elementary Science Instruction: Roles of Science Specialist Teachers (M. G. Jones and J. Edmunds); and (16) Future Directions in Elementary Science Teacher Education: Conclusion (K. Appleton).