Cross National Study on Pre-Service Elementary and Science Teachers’ Opinions on Science Teaching
Andrej Šorgo 1 * , Nataša Pipenbaher 1, Slavica Šimić Šašić 2, Pavol Prokop 3 4, Milan Kubiatko 5, Nika Golob 1, Mehmet Erdogan 6, Iztok Tomažič 7, Martin Bilek 8, Jana Fančovičova 3, Vincentas Lamanauskas 9, Muhammet Usak 10
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1 University of Maribor, SLOVENIA2 University of Zadar, CROATIA3 Trnava University, SLOVAKIA4 Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Zoology, SLOVAKIA5 Masaryk University, CZECH REPUBLIC6 Akdeniz University, TURKEY7 University of Ljubljana, SLOVENIA8 University of Hradec Králové, CZECH REPUBLIC9 University of Siauliai, LITHUANIA10 Gazi University, TURKEY* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Cross national study on opinions on science teaching was revealed on a sample of 1799 (596 males, 1203 females) pre-service elementary and science teachers’ enrolled in various departments at selected universities in Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. Three factors explaining 43.4% of variance were extracted from a pool of 22 items of affirmative statements. In combination with all three factors it was possible to construct a ghost teacher. Such teacher, constructed from the study, recognizes the importance of active student-centred teaching with respect to culture of the society, both in content and values, but will in practice teach with high achievements in mind and teacher centred practice as a vehicle towards success. Differences between teachers from different countries, between genders and between study tracks are statistically significant. The most influential factor determining opinions is the dominant teaching culture of the country.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2015, Volume 11, Issue 4, 713-723

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1379a

Publication date: 11 Sep 2015

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