Changes in Turkish Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Science Anxieties during a Science Method Course

Abstract

This study examines the changes in Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’ personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs and science anxieties (SANX) during a science methods course. Although a noticeable, but statistically insignificant, decrease in SANX scores was found, participants’ PSTE scores did not increase during the semester. Interestingly instead, a slight decline was observed in PSTE scores. No significant gender effect on PSTE and SANX scores was detected. Unlike the relevant data from other countries, Turkish female pre-service elementary teachers were found to have lower SANX and higher PSTE scores than their male peers. Based on the data, while the methods course helped participants slightly reduce their anxieties toward science, around one-third of them expressed that they did not have adequate pedagogical knowledge to teach science effectively in elementary schools. Possible improvements in Turkish elementary teacher education programs are discussed in light of the related literature.

This study examines the changes in Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’ personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs and science anxieties (SANX) during a science methods course. Although a noticeable, but statistically insignificant, decrease in SANX scores was found, participants’ PSTE scores did not increase during the semester. Interestingly instead, a slight decline was observed in PSTE scores. No significant gender effect on PSTE and SANX scores was detected. Unlike the relevant data from other countries, Turkish female pre-service elementary teachers were found to have lower SANX and higher PSTE scores than their male peers. Based on the data, while the methods course helped participants slightly reduce their anxieties toward science, around one-third of them expressed that they did not have adequate pedagogical knowledge to teach science effectively in elementary schools. Possible improvements in Turkish elementary teacher education programs are discussed in light of the related literature.