The relationship between pre-service science teachers’ epistemological beliefs and preferences for creating a constructivist learning environment

Journal Title: European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Year 2016, Vol 4, Issue 2

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between pre-service science teachers’ epistemological beliefs and perceptions of a constructivist learning environment. The Turkish version of Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and Schommer’s Epistemological Belief Questionnaire were administered to 531 pre-service science teachers attending seven public universities in Turkey. For data analysis, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 20 program was used and correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between the participants’ epistemological beliefs and perceptions of a constructivist learning environment. Also, descriptive analysis was conducted to determine their epistemological beliefs and perceptions of a constructivist learning environment. The results showed that the more sophisticated epistemological beliefs the participants have, the more constructivist learning environments they prefer, and positive/negative relationships were found among subscales of the two scales. Moreover, the results revealed that pre-service science teachers have relatively sophisticated epistemological beliefs, and generally prefer more constructivist learning environments. The implications were discussed.

Authors and Affiliations

Aslı Saylan| Elementary Science Education, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey, For correspondence: aslisaylan@erciyes.edu.tr, Fulya Öner Armağan| Elementary Science Education, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey, Oktay Bektaş| Elementary Science Education, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

Keywords

Related Articles

Promising teacher practices: students’ views about their science learning

Internationally, conceptual and procedural understanding, understanding the Nature of Science, and scientific literacy are considered worthy goals of school science education in modern times. The empirical study presente...

Pre-service physics teachers’ content knowledge of electric and magnetic field concepts: Conceptual facets and their balance

The concepts of electricity and magnetism in physics are complex and demanding to learn because their meaning builds through several different phenomenological areas. Each of these phenomenological areas adds a certain f...

Fostering modeling competencies: benefits of worked examples, problems to be solved, and fading procedures

The application of mathematics to real-world problems is moving more and more in the focus of attention of mathematics education; however, many learners experience huge difficulties in relating “pure” mathematics to ever...

The coexistence claim and its possible implications for success in teaching for conceptual “change”

This article presents recent research results in mental chronometry and neuroimaging that support the coexistence of multiple conceptions. It then presents and elaborates on six possible implications for an adherence to...

Physics for primary school teachers – some practical experiences

Physics as a teaching subject starts usually in the sixth year of the school attendance in the Czech Republic. It means that pupils meet physics in the age of eleven or twelve. On the other hand, some basic physics pheno...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP8101
  • DOI -
  • Views 419
  • Downloads 24

How To Cite

Aslı Saylan, Fulya Öner Armağan, Oktay Bektaş (2016). The relationship between pre-service science teachers’ epistemological beliefs and preferences for creating a constructivist learning environment. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 4(2), 251-267. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-8101