ERIC Number: EJ1470963
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2096-5311
EISSN: EISSN-2632-1742
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Alternative Conceptions about Climate Change in a Group of Teachers in Chile: Are Science Teachers More Knowledgeable than Non-Science Teachers?
Verónica Abasto1; Antonia Larraín2; Claudia Vergara2; Hernán Cofré1
ECNU Review of Education, v8 n1 p144-160 2025
Purpose: This study aimed to describe the knowledge and alternative conceptions of climate change in a group of Chilean science and non-science teachers with different teaching experiences. Design/Approach/Methods: The study used a quantitative approach with an exploratory, descriptive, and transversal design, in which a Climate Change Questionnaire was applied to a group of 64 pre-service and in-service teachers. Findings: The results demonstrated that the whole group of teachers had moderate knowledge about climate change, presenting some alternative conceptions, such as confusion about greenhouse gases, solar radiation, and the false relationship between ozone layer thinning and the greenhouse effect. There was no difference in climate change knowledge between science and non-science teachers or among teachers with different teaching experiences. Originality/Value: This is the first research work published in an international journal on the knowledge of climate change by a group of teachers in Chile (and Latin America); therefore, it is an original contribution to the literature about climate change education. Furthermore, we tested hypotheses regarding the effects of experience and scientific background on teachers' knowledge of climate change.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Science Teachers, Foreign Countries, Climate, Knowledge Level, Teacher Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Misconceptions
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Chile
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso; 2Alberto Hurtado University