The purpose of this study was to develop, validate, and establish the reliability of an instrument that measures preservice teachers' self-efficacy in regard to the teaching of science as inquiry. The instrument, Teaching Science as Inquiry (TSI), is based upon the work of Bandura (1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1997), Riggs (1988), and…

It is of vital importance that children develop positive attitudes about ethnicity and race at an early age. Young children are not born with a racial bias, but by the time they reach high school they have often adopted the prejudices to which they have been exposed. In this article, the author discusses ways to help elementary school teachers…

An alternative conception for the observed differences in light bulb brightness was revealed during an unguided inquiry investigation in which prospective elementary teachers placed identical bulbs in series, parallel, and combination direct current circuits. Classroom observations, document analyses, and video and audio transcriptions led to the…

The need exists for methods courses to address the pedagogy issues of using graphing calculators. There needs to be a teacher candidate forum to examine their pedagogical perspectives on using graphing calculators in teaching, to explore when and how to use graphing calculators in the classroom, and to provide opportunities to practice teaching…

In this study our purpose is to determine how the teachers are applying the constructivist approach in their classes by classifying the teachers according to graduated faculty, department and their years in the duty. Besides understanding the difference of the effects of constructivist approach and traditional education method on student success…

The purpose of the study was to assess the status of elementary health and health education in public schools throughout South Dakota during the 2005-2006 school year. The study was designed to provide current data collected from both elementary and secondary school principals and teachers regarding health and physical education curricula,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate adult singing anxieties arising within the context of a music methods course. Participants were three female elementary education majors who reported suffering from anxiety related to singing. Anxiety toward singing was evidenced through observations and participants' descriptions of cognitive, somatic,…

This study had two aims. The first was to validate further Sternberg's theory of mental self-government in a Chinese cultural setting. The second was to investigate the relationship between teaching styles and teachers' characteristics. Two hundred and three (64 males, 139 females) primary and secondary school teachers from Shanghai, mainland…

This study examines how teachers actually cope with behavioural problems of included students. In order to understand the impact of individual differences on teachers' coping strategies, the authors looked at the relationship between these strategies and teachers' democratic beliefs and self-efficacy. Participants were 33 teachers in Israel, who…

A partnership project was developed in which parents volunteered to support teachers in training years 1-3 children in computer skills at a primary school in a small, low socio-economic community. This article identifies the ways teachers and the "tutors" (as the volunteers were called) understood the value of the project. "Being a…

The recent dramatic changes in the makeup of the student population in Greek schools pointed to the need for designing and implementing new educational and teacher training programmes that would incorporate the educational needs of newcomers. Such a teacher training programme aiming at developing Greek teachers' cultural awareness and empowerment…

Students of color are often underrepresented in gifted education programs. While many educators have sought to reverse or redress this issue, little has changed over the years. In this article, it is proposed that teachers, particularly those working with elementary students, must pursue cultural competence in order to recognize the strengths and…

How happy are you about teaching science? Building on similar work from the Leverhulme Primary Project and the Primary Horizons, the authors pursued this question with 303 head teachers, science coordinators, and class teachers across England in a recent questionnaire survey. The findings point to very real progress being made in many areas of…

How do we bridge the mismatch between teachers and students based on race and ethnicity currently in our nation's schools? The teaching force remains overwhelmingly White, while the percentage of K-12 students of color continues to rise. Because of cultural dissonance, teachers may not understand the needs of their students. This study shows…

This paper communicates the generative potential of classroom skits as curricular openings in teacher education. Although assorted incidences of the use of skits in classrooms have been documented, literature on the use of skits as a learning tool is very limited. I suggest that skits allow for the generally absent observation component during…