ERIC Number: ED620314
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
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Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Science Content Knowledge: A Case of Lithuania
International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education, Paper presented at the International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education (BalticSTE2021) (4th, Šiauliai, Lithuania, Jun 21-22, 2021)
Primary school teachers' science competence remains a highly relevant theoretical and practical problem. Although the general curricula and educational standards of Lithuanian general education school set quite high requirements for the process of primary school science education, the science competence of teachers raises reasonable concerns. It has to be stated that in university primary education study programmes, insufficient attention is paid to the natural science component. This leads to a possible lack of preparation for pre-service primary school teachers in science education. A pilot study conducted at the beginning of 2020, in which 107 students from two Lithuanian universities participated, showed that their scientific knowledge was poor and insufficient. Particularly weak was subject knowledge from the field "Nature research", and also knowledge related to animate and inanimate nature. An assumption can be made that science literacy of preservice primary education teachers is not sufficiently developed at university, which is one of the factors limiting the quality of children's science education. There are probably two main reasons for this situation: insufficient science education in general education schools, and insufficient training of students in the field of science education for pre-service primary school teachers. [For the full proceedings, see ED620289.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Preservice Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Science Education, Knowledge Level, Natural Sciences, Scientific Concepts, Misconceptions
Scientia Socialis Ltd. 29 K. Donelaicio Street, LT-78115 Siauliai, Republic of Lithuania. e-mail: scientia@scientiasocialis.lt; Web site: https://www.scientiasocialis.lt/
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Identifiers - Location: Lithuania
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