L'idée d'obstacle dans la formation des professeurs des écoles

Abstract

The notion of conceptual obstacles in the training of primary school teachers In France, primary school teachers are recruited through a competitive examination. Most candidates attend a year of preparation for this examination. Successful candidates then undertake a further year of professional teacher training. The recruitment examination demands mastery of a number of key ideas in the field of science education. Among these, the notion of conceptual obstacles, implying an analysis of pupils’ pre-conceptions and errors, has to be taken into account in the preparatory year curriculum. In this paper, we suggest ways in which the notion of conceptual obstacles is embodied in the examination questions related to biology and geology. We examine these questions in terms of the perspectives that are taken on pupils’ mental representations and how they should be dealt with in teaching situations. We also examine teacher training textbooks for biology and geology education on a similar basis. This enables us to draw generalisations with regard to primary teacher training in our country.