Elementary Science Teaching

Abstract

This chapter shares research on elementary science teaching, and begins with science standards that have been developed worldwide, followed by elementary teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching science, their conceptions and practices of teaching nature of scientific knowledge, scientific inquiry, science content knowledge, and more recently, inclusion of engineering and STEM in the elementary science classroom. In England, science teaching in elementary schools is governed by the National Curriculum, and by the end of elementary school, students are expected to be able to make their own decisions about setting up and conducting scientific inquiries. A teacher’s self-efficacy for teaching science can also be related to their understandings of scientific inquiry. Science teaching in the elementary school is often left out due to test preparation stress or lack of time. Elementary in-service teachers’ attitudes about teaching scientific inquiry can improve through professional development.