Pre-service teachers' professional vision of instructional support in primary science classes: How content-specific is this skill and which learning opportunities in initial teacher education are relevant for its acquisition?

Abstract

Professional vision of instructional support in primary science was investigated with respect to its content-specificity and to learning opportunities in initial teacher education (ITE) which are presumably relevant for the acquisition of this skill. Data from 196 primary pre-service teachers were used. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested pre-service teachers' professional vision of instructional support to be a content-specific skill rather than a general homogeneous or a content-independent one. MIMIC model results revealed that pre-service teachers’ general cognitive ability and the attendance of an ITE program with a focus on science were most significantly related to their professional vision of instructional support in science classes, whereas practical experiences were not.