The culture of traditional preservice elementary science methods students compared to the culture of science: A dilemma for teacher educators

Abstract

An emergent design qualitative study generated grounded theory explaining what happened when a professor taught five preservice elementary science methods classes modeling inquiry. Data sources included classroom observations, interviews, students’ reflective journals, and artifacts from other student assignments. Member checking was done with individuals and groups during each course and in exit interviews Findings suggested students’ expectations for learning and teaching science originated in the culture in which they lived. Features of their culture, grounded in the data, emerged. The values, assumptions, beliefs, personality profiles, and behaviors that dominated their culture did not support teaching and learning through inquiry. Discrepancies between students’ expectations and course reality led to frustration and anxiety expressed as resistance to inquiry learning and teaching. Students’ culture was compared to the culture of science using five analytical frameworks: (1) the ethics of science presented in the National Science Education Standards, (2) the nature of science as revealed in science teaching, (3) the biological evolution of “curiosity” as a basis for science, (4) social psychological theory relating to need for achievement and fear of failure, and (5) preferred style of social action. Triangulating these analyses, we concluded that the culture of traditional preservice elementary methods students was the antithesis of the culture of science. This cultural class has implications for strategies to enhance preservice elementary teacher education to meet the National Science Education Standards’ focus on inquiry.