Research Article

Self-concept of Greek primary school teachers and their conceptions of force and weight among their years of service

Konstantinos T. Kotsis 1 , Dimitris Panagou 1 *
More Detail
1 Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, GREECE* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning, 5(1), January 2023, ep2301, https://doi.org/10.30935/ijpdll/12628
Published Online: 10 November 2022, Published: 01 January 2023
OPEN ACCESS   1532 Views   860 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

This paper describes an empirical study (n=352) into Greek in-service primary school teachers’ conceptions of concepts of force and weight. A closed multiple-choice questionnaire is given to primary school teachers as a tool to explore conceptions, which has been used in previous research. The study population consisted of teachers at primary schools who work in the Greek education directorate. The research data is related to the teachers’ years of service, from where it is studied whether their teaching experience changes/reduces the alternative conceptions. The research data investigated whether the teachers’ teaching experience alters or reduces alternative conceptions based on their years of service. Years of service correlate statistically significantly with most questions. In particular, our results indicate that the alternative conceptions of teachers, reflecting misconceptions and preconceptions, reduce as the years of professional experience increase. Our study can be employed in science teaching, the design of Curricula, and teachers’ professional development.

CITATION (APA)

Kotsis, K. T., & Panagou, D. (2023). Self-concept of Greek primary school teachers and their conceptions of force and weight among their years of service. International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning, 5(1), ep2301. https://doi.org/10.30935/ijpdll/12628

REFERENCES

  1. Abell, S. (2000). International perspectives on science teacher. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  2. Abell, S., & Roth, M. (1992). Constraints to teaching elementary science: A case study of a science enthusiast student teacher. Science Education, 76(6), 581-595. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730760603
  3. Andersson, B., & Bach, F. (2005). On designing and evaluating teaching sequences taking geometrical optics as an example. Science Education, 89(2), 196-218. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20044
  4. Appleton, K. (2003). How do beginning primary school teachers cope with science? Toward an understanding of science teaching practice. Research in Science Education, 33, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023666618800
  5. Bayraktar, S. (2009). Pre-service primary teachers’ ideas about lunar phases. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 6(2), 12-23.
  6. Botha, M. L., & Reddy, C. P. S. (2011). In-service teachers’ perspectives of pre-service teachers’ knowledge domains in science. South African Journal of Education, 31(2), 257-274. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v31n2a354
  7. Davis, E., & Petish, D. (2017). Real-world applications and instructional representations among prospective elementary science teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 4, 263-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-005-8892-4
  8. Driver, R. (1989). Students’ conceptions and the learning of science. International Journal of Science Education, 11(5), 481-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069890110501
  9. Duit, R., & Treagust, D. F. (2003). Conceptual change: A powerful framework for improving science teaching and learning. International Journal of Science Education, 25(6), 671-688. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690305016
  10. Dysthe, O. (2002). Professors as mediators of academic text cultures: An interview study with advisors and master’s degree students in three disciplines in a Norwegian university. Written Communication, 19(4), 493-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/074108802238010
  11. Elby, A. (2001). Helping physics students learn how to learn. American Journal of Physics, 61(1), 54-64. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1377283
  12. Ferreira, A., Lemmer, M., & Gunstone, R. (2017). Alternative conceptions: Turning adversity into advantage. Research in Science Education, 49, 657-678.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9638-y
  13. Ferreira, J. M., Soini, T., Kupiainen, R., Salum, A. C. (2019). What is learning for secondary-school students? Students’ perceptions examined in Brazil and Finland. Social Psychology Education, 22, 447-470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09479-5
  14. Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. SAGE.
  15. Fleury, S., & Bentley, M. (1991). Educating elementary science teachers: Alternative conceptions of the nature of science. Teaching Education, 3(2), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047621910030207
  16. Gabunilas, L. (2017). Addressing elementary teachers’ alternative conceptions in force and motion with an interactive computer simulation. International Journal of Physics, 5(5), 147-153. https://doi.org/10.12691/ijp-5-5-1
  17. Hatzikraniotis, E., Kallery, M., Molohidis, A., & Psillos, D. (2010). Students’ design of experiments: An inquiry module on the conduction of heat. Physics Education, 45(4), 335-344. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9120/45/4/002
  18. Kallery M., & Psillos D. (2001) Pre-school teachers’ content knowledge in science: Their understanding of elementary science concepts and of issues raised by children’s questions. International Journal of Early Years Education, 9(3), 165-179. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760120086929
  19. Kokkotas, P., Koulaidis, V., Karanikas, Y., Tsatsaroni, A., & Vlachos, Y. (1995). The language of physics: A case study of the concept of force in primary education. In C. Bernardini, C. Tarsitani, & M. Vicentini (eds.), Thinking physics for teaching (pp. 207-219). Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1921-8_15
  20. Kotsis, K. T. (2005). Didaskalía Tis Fysikís kai Peírama [Teaching Physics & Experiment]. University of Ioannina Publications.
  21. Kotsis, K. T. (2011). Erevnitikí proséngisi tou diachronikoú charaktíra ton enallaktikón ideón sti didaktikí tis Fysikís [A research approach to the timeless nature of alternative ideas in the teaching of Physics]. University of Ioannina Publications.
  22. Kotsis, K. T., & Panagou, D. (2022). Using alternative ideas for determining the learning curve on the concept of force. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10(4), 495-506. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12251
  23. Kotsis, K. T., Vemis, K., & Kolovos, X. (2002). I ennoiologikí allagí ton enallaktikón ideón ton paidión kai i diárkeia gnósis apó ti didaskalía tous sto dimotikó, stin énnoia tis trivís [The conceptual change of children's alternative ideas and the duration of knowledge, from their teaching at the Primary school, on the friction]. Repository of UOI ''Olympias''.
  24. Kunter, M., Klusmann, U., Baumert, J., Richter, D., Voss, T., & Hachfeld, A. (2013). Professional competence of teachers: Effects on instructional quality and student development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 805. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032583
  25. Kurnaz, M. A., & Saglam-Arslan, A. (2011). A thematic review of some studies investigating students’ alternative conceptions about energy. International Journal of Physics & Chemistry Education, 3(1), 51-74. https://doi.org/10.51724/ijpce.v3i1.189
  26. Kurnaz, M. A., & Saglam-Arslan, A. (2014). Effectiveness of multiple representations for learning energy concepts: Case of Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 627-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.269
  27. Landau, S., & Everitt, B. (2004). A handbook of statistical analyses using SPSS. Chapman & Hall/CRC Press LLC. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203009765
  28. Matthews, M. R. (2002). Constructivism and science education: A further appraisal. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 11, 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014661312550
  29. Mellado, V. (1998). The classroom practice of preservice teachers and their conceptions of teaching and learning science. Science Teacher Education, 82(2), 197-214. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199804)82:2<197::AID-SCE5>3.0.CO;2-9
  30. Murphy, C., & Smith, G. (2012). The impact of a curriculum course on pre-service primary teachers’ science content knowledge and attitudes towards teaching science. Irish Educational Studies, 31(1), 77-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2011.634061
  31. Narjaikaew, P. (2013). Alternative conceptions of primary school teachers of science about force and motion. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 88(10), 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.503
  32. Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, H. (1994). Psychometric theory. McGraw-Hill, Inc.
  33. Panagou, D., Kotsis, K. T., & Stylos, G. (2022). An empirical study on the evolution of students’ perceptions in basic concepts of physics of primary and secondary education in Cyprus. The Electronic Journal for Research in Science & Mathematics Education, 26(2), 91-109.
  34. Pangrazi, R. P., & Beighle, A. (2019). Dynamic physical education for elementary school children. Human Kinetics Publishers.
  35. Pine, K., Messer, D., & John, K. (2010). Children’s misconceptions in primary science: A survey of teachers’ views. Research in Science & Technological Education, 19(1), 79-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635140120046240
  36. Preece, P. (2006). Force and motion: Pre‐service and practising secondary science teachers’ language and understanding. Research in Science & Technological Education, 15(1), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/0263514970150109
  37. Ramnarain, U., & Schuster, D. (2014). The pedagogical orientations of South African physical sciences teachers towards inquiry or direct instructional approaches. Research in Science Education, 44(4), 627-650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-013-9395-5
  38. Rogers, M., Abell, S., Lannin, J., Wang, C., Musikul, K., Barker, D., & Dingman, S. (2007). Effective professional development in science and mathematics education: Teachers’ and facilitators’ views. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 5, 507-532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-006-9053-8
  39. Schoon, K., & Boone, W. (1998). Self-efficacy and alternative conceptions of science of preservice elementary teachers. Science Education, 82(5), 553-568. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199809)82:5<553::AID-SCE2>3.0.CO;2-8
  40. Smith, D., & Neale, D. (1989). The construction of subject matter knowledge in primary science teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(89)90015-2
  41. Soankwan, C., Emarat, N., Arayathanitkul, K., & Chitaree, R. (2007). Physics education in Thailand. International Newsletter on Physics Education, 6-8.
  42. Summers, M. (1992). Improving primary school teachers’ understanding. International Journal of Science Education, 14(1), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069920140104
  43. Summers, M., & Kruger, C. (1992). Research into English primary school teachers’ understanding of the concept energy. Evaluation & Research in Education, 6(2-3), 95-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500799209533321
  44. Taber, K. (2002). Chemical misconceptions: Prevention, diagnosis, and cure. RSC.
  45. Taber, K. (2009). Progressing science education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2431-2
  46. Tobin, K. (1990). Research on science laboratory activities: In pursuit of better questions and answers to improve learning. School Science and Mathematics, 90(5), 403-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1990.tb17229.x
  47. Treagust, D., & Duit, R. (2008). Compatibility between cultural studies and conceptual change in science education: There is more to acknowledge than to fight straw men! Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3, 387-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-008-9096-y
  48. Van Driel, J., De Jong, O., & Verloop, N. (2002). The development of preservice chemistry teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Science Education, 86(4), 572-590.https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10010
  49. Villarino, G. N. (2018). An investigation of students’ conceptual understanding of the concepts of force and energy. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 26(6), 22-61.
  50. Vosniadou, S. & Skopeliti, I. (2014). Conceptual change from the framework theory side of the fence. Science & Education, 23, 1427-1445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-013-9640-3
  51. Wagner, W. (2019). Using IBM® SPSS® statistics for research methods and social science statistics. SAGE.
  52. Wandersee, J. H., Mintzes, J. J., & Novak, J. D. (1994). Research on alternative conceptions in science. In D. L. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of research on science teaching and learning (pp. 177-210). Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International.
  53. Zhang, M., Parker, J., Koehler, M. J., & Eberhardt, J. (2015). Understanding in-service science teachers’ needs for professional development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 26(5), 471-496. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-015-9433-4