ERIC Number: EJ1137874
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Mar
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0313-5373
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Changing Roles of Science Specialists during a Capacity Building Program for Primary School Science
Herbert, Sandra; Xu, Lihua; Kelly, Leissa
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v42 n3 Article 1 p1-21 Mar 2017
Science education starts at primary school. Yet, recent research shows primary school teachers lack confidence and competence in teaching science (Prinsley & Johnston, 2015). A Victorian state government science specialist initiative responded to this concern by providing professional learning programs to schools across Victoria. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), this paper reports the analysis of transcripts of interviews with 17 science specialists from eleven schools. It presents the various perceived and enacted science specialist roles, and how they changed over time. The CHAT analysis of the transcripts revealed seven different stages describing trajectories of the science specialism. The variation in the trajectories indicate the importance of the influence of the community in the enactment of the science specialism. Affordances, constraints and challenges of implementing the science specialist role are discussed.
Descriptors: Capacity Building, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Science Education, Interviews, Specialists, Role, Community Role, Elementary School Teachers, Self Efficacy, Faculty Development, Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Edith Cowan University. Bradford Street, Mount Lawley, West Australia 6050, Australia. Web site: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A