Pre-service primary teachers’ science content knowledge: a case of Lithuania

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Bandomasis tyrimas; Pradinių klasių mokytojai; Gamtos mokslų žinios, universiteto studentai. Keywords: Pilot research; Primary school teachers; Science content knowledge; University students.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Kiekybiniai tyrimai; Bandomieji tyrimai; Mokytojo kompetencijos; Gamtos mokslų žinios; Universiteto studentai; Quantitative research; Pilot research; Pre-service teachers; Knowledge; Science education; University students.

ENPrimary school teachers’ science competence remains a highly relevant theoretical and practical problem. Although the general curricula and educational standards of Lithuanian general education school set quite high requirements for the process of primary school science education, the science competence of teachers raises reasonable concerns. It has to be stated that in university primary education study programmes, insufficient attention is paid to the natural science component. This leads to a possible lack of preparation for pre-service primary school teachers in science education. A pilot study conducted at the beginning of 2020, in which 107 students from two Lithuanian universities participated, showed that their scientific knowledge was poor and insufficient. Particularly weak was subject knowledge from the field “Nature research”, and also knowledge related to animate and inanimate nature. An assumption can be made that science literacy of preservice primary education teachers is not sufficiently developed at university, which is one of the factors limiting the quality of children’s science education. There are probably two main reasons for this situation: insufficient science education in general education schools, and insufficient training of students in the field of science education for pre-service primary school teachers. [From the publication]

• Gamtamokslinis ugdymas pradinėje mokykloje ir universitete: studentų požiūris / Vincentas Lamanauskas. Pedagogika. 2001, 52, p. 163-173.
• Gamtamokslinis ugdymas pradinėje mokykloje: mokytojų kompetencija ir rengimas / Vincentas Lamanauskas, Dalia Augienė. Gamtamokslinis ugdymas bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje. 2019, 25, p. 18-28.
• Gamtamokslinis ugdymas pradinėje mokykloje : mokslinių tyrimų kontekstas / Vincentas Lamanauskas. Gamtamokslinis ugdymas. 2009, Nr. 2 (25), p. 4-11.
• Pradinių klasių mokytojų gamtamokslinis raštingumas / Vincentas Lamanauskas. Švietimo reforma ir mokytojų rengimas : mokslas-studijos-mokykla : VII tarptautinė mokslinė konferencija, Vilnius, 2000 lapkričio 22-24 d. : mokslo darbai / redakcinė kolegija: Irena Musteikienė (pirmininkė) ... [et al.]. Vilnius: Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas, 2000. P. 133-139.
• Pradinių klasių mokytojų refleksijos gamtamokslinio ugdymo kompetencijos klausimu / Violeta Laurukėnaitė, Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė. Pedagogika. 2003, 68, p. 154-160.