Session Information
Contribution
In most educational studies and debates in the western countries it seems that the lack of natural scientific literacy is a great problem. Students seem to have difficulties in their learning of core concepts and abandoning their everyday life understanding of nature and science. The content in education is usually taken for granted and the theory of learning is based on constructivist perspectives. This approach also forms international investigations like PISA 2003. Action proposals are quite often focused on changing traditional methods in teaching but seldom on the relevance of the content for the pupil's personal life. This paper concerns the moral dimensions in natural science education and the specific context is teacher education in Sweden. The research questions are: what kind of norms and values do student teachers put across in their teaching in natural science education during their practice in school? What kinds of preferences do they express in their actions and statements?In the paper by way of introduction different aims of science education and motives for the subject in school are illuminated and the meaning of the moral dimensions in teaching is defined. Some researchers have in the last few years focused their interest on science education related to moral (or character) education. How can natural science education contribute to a moral awareness and responsibility? During the last fifteen years for instance STSE programs have been designed (Teaching Science, Technology, Society and Environment education) aiming to develop students' moral and social responsibility. The interest is mainly focused on moral reasoning and in connection to Kohlberg's theory of moral development. A constructivist cognitive-developmental model is the main underlying theory. However, this paper concerns what kinds of values that are embedded in teacher students' teaching in mainly compulsory school classes. Do they perceive themselves as teachers of science or teachers of students? In what sense do they teach science content and morals? What kind of ethical discourse consciousness do they express regarding their science education? The study here pays attention to becoming teachers' actions and reasoning in the end of their teacher training and will later be followed up after their degree.The research method is based on observations of 12 student teachers' teaching in pre-school and compulsory school, which are followed up by interviews in connection to their lessons.The study is a part of a research program, To Teach is to Choose, granted by the Swedish Research Council.Preliminary conclusions are that the moral dimensions are rather implicit and explicit to the student teachers, even if this has been a crucial part in their teacher education. It is more underlying and hidden than visible and verbalized. It is taken for granted. Maybe not very surprising it seems that the more science literacy skilled student teachers are, the more institutional norms about traditional content in science seem to steer their education. The younger pupils they have in their class, the more of expressed moral topics and aims in the student teachers' teaching.Berkowitz & Simmons (2003). Integrating Science Education and Character Education. In: D. L. Zeidler (Ed), The Role of Moral Reasoning on Socioscientific Issues and Discourse in Science Education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press. Dahlin, B. (2001). The Primacy of Cognition - or of Perception? A Phenomenological Critique of the Theoretical Basis of Science Education. Science & Education 10, 453-475. Donnelly, J. (2004). Humanizing Science Education. Science Education, 88, 762-784. Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge: Polity Press. Helldén, G., Lindahl, B. & Redfors, A. (2004). Lärande och undervisning i naturvetenskap - en forskningsöversikt [Learning and teaching - a research review]. Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet [The Swedish Research Council]. Orlenius, K. & Bigsten, A. (2006). Den värdefulla praktiken. Yrkesetik i pedagogers vardag. [The practice of values. Professional ethics in teachers' everyday life]. Stockholm: Runa. Sjøberg, S. (2005). Naturvetenskap som allmänbildning: en kritisk ämnesdidaktik. [Natural science as general knowledge: a critical subject-orientated didactic, 2nd ed.]. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Sjøberg, S. (2005). TIMSS och PISA - brickor i det politiska spelet. [TIMSS and PISA - a pawn in the political game] Pedagogiska Magasinet, 2, 10-19. Later on, to an international journal concerning science education or teacher education.
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