This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of Bachelor of Education students between 2004 and 2008 carried out by members of the Irish Association for Social, Scientific and Environmental Education (IASSEE). IASSEE provides a forum for initial teacher educators in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to share their ideas in history, geography and science education.

The principle research question for this research is as follows: What impact does initial teacher education have on student teachers’ attitudes to history, geography and science? Therefore the key focus of this paper is on the development of student teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman,1986) in history, geography and science as a result of their experiences in initial teacher education.

The research also focuses on student teacher experiences, perceptions and attitudes relating to history, geography and science in terms of their own experiences and in terms of teaching these curricular areas in the primary classroom.

The main aim of this longitudinal study in line with action research (Carr and Kemmis, 1986) is to reflect upon and improve courses in history, geography and science in initial teacher education in Ireland. While designed as a large scale study, this research was premised upon the principles of action research within a community of practice (Lewin, 1946) in that it was conceived of as part of a wider inquiry into the practice of IASSEE members with a view to promoting critical reflection, evaluation and review of practice. The research on which this paper is based is informed by principles of reflective practice and was conducted in the spirit of promoting the dialectical relationship between research and practice, which is part of what it means to be a teacher educator (Cochrane-Smith, 2005).

The study found that students entering initial teacher education had a range of experiences of geography, history and science at school. From these experiences they had developed ideas of what made a good teacher of history, geography and science. During their time in initial teacher education students experienced a broadly positive experience of history, geography and science both in college and on school placements. For some students these experiences enhanced their already positive attitudes to history, geography and science, for others the experiences helped improve their attitudes towards these curricular areas. However, the results reveal a number of issues relating to the development of student teachers as teachers of history, geography and science.

In accordance with the spirit of action research, the lecturers as practitioners have the opportunity to investigate and reflect upon their own practices with a view to adapting their own teaching and learning strategies in ways that are beneficial to their students.

Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986) Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research, Lewes: Falmer. Cochrane-Smith, 2005 Studying Teacher Education: What we know and what we need to know. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 56 No4, 301-306. Lewin, Kurt (1946), Action Research and Minority Problems, Journal of Social Issues, (2) 34-46. Shulman, L.S. (1986) Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2) pp4-14.