“I Gotta Touch that?” Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers Regarding Scary or Disgusting Science

Abstract

This study focused on our teaching efforts in regard to preparing preservice teachers to one day teach children about ecological concepts that many find scary or disgusting. Specifically, we examined the attitudes these preservice teachers had towards certain invertebrates. These attitudes were compared to their self-efficacy towards teaching about them. A multiple case study design was used, involving both qualitative and quantitative data. Participants were categorized as having positive, neutral, or negative attitudes towards the invertebrates and activities. Self-efficacy for participants’ perceived ability to teach these concepts were categorized as high, medium, or low. Correlations were run to examine relationships between variables of attitudes and self-efficacy. Participants demonstrated more negative than positive reactions towards the invertebrates. Positive correlations between attitudes towards invertebrates and their self-efficacy towards teaching about them were found. This indicates that if we want future teachers to be comfortable teaching about the scary and disgusting aspects of an ecosystem, we need to find ways to help them improve their attitudes towards those aspects of the outdoors.