Informal opportunities for young people to engage with science have increased in response to declining uptake in science and a shortage of science graduates. This paper is set in the context of the recent introduction of science at primary level in Ireland and the existence of a great number of science outreach programmes, in particular from universities to support this sector. The recent movement to change science pedagogy in schools towards a focus on inquiry and constructivist methods commands discussion around pedagogical practice in both spaces (education and outreach). Building on the authors' research which embraced a qualitative approach to ascertain participant perception of constructivism and understanding of conceptual and pedagogical dilemmas within science education, this paper reports a singularly quantitative insight, carried out in parallel, to facilitate a more formal and standardised comparison within and between populations and to allow generalisation to the larger population. A Constructivist Learning Environment (CLES) survey of both primary teachers (N=148) and science outreach practitioners (N=81) in Ireland was conducted, eliciting multiple dimension perceptions, in terms of pedagogical choice and comparative differentiators regarding sex, school size, outreach frequency in the classroom, role of outreach practitioner within their institution, outreach experience of the outreach practitioner. Results challenge beliefs presented in the literature about a deficit of science pedagogy amongst primary level teachers and therefore questions the role of science outreach in this relationship. This study provokes the necessity for a discussion of the third space, arising from the juxtaposition between science outreach and education.

Internationally, science literacy has become socially and economically very important. Many European countries, including Ireland, stress that science and technology graduates are fundamental for economic growth. Nevertheless, there is a recognized trend of diminishing interest in science by students. In response, there has been a call to change the way science is taught in schools which focuses on inquiry methods rooted in constructivism, and for further encouragement of students to pursue science degrees. Specifically at primary level, there is a recurrent view that teachers lack the confidence and pedagogical knowledge to teach science by inquiry. Universities and other organizations have responded by developing science outreach programmes to improve student engagement in science, and to promote inquiry in the classroom. Given this context, there is a necessity for research in this area to ascertain if this new relationship between outreach and education is worthwhile, and therefore the analysis and comparison of both fields warranted. This study examines and compares primary teachers' and outreach practitioners' understanding and perceptions of constructivist science pedagogy in an effort to understand the potential of the teacher-outreach symbiotic partnership. A mixed-methods approach was employed. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey was completed by 149 teachers and 89 outreach practitioners and semi-structured interviews, presenting constructivist dilemmatic cases were carried out with 31 teachers and 30 outreach practitioners. The results obtained contradict the view that teachers do not have a strong science pedagogical sense, and are resistant to constructivist approaches. Both teachers and outreach providers revealed favourable views in relation to constructivism, despite recognizing barriers to its implementation. These results move the mind-set away from one that assumes the teacher lacks this pedagogical knowledge towards one that supports the teacher-outreach symbiotic partnership and the realisation of the hybrid role of each participants. The results obtained have also revealed an important gatekeeper dynamic in outreach access to schools. The study ends with implications and recommendations derived from these conclusions. vi Papers and Conference Proceedings Gomes, D. and McCauley, V. (2014). Why do we teach science: four arguments for teaching science and the role of science outreach. Chemistry in Action. 2 (103) pp. 24-6.

Inquiry learning pedagogies have not only been proposed as a successful teaching methodology to draw students into science, they are also rich with possibilities for creativity. The particular focus on investigations and problem-solving provides opportunity for educators to embrace this. The primary curriculum explicitly values creativity in this regard, linking with inquiry, and problem-solving. In recent years, science outreach carried out by universities in the Republic of Ireland has played a significant role in the formal classroom as a support to primary science (KS1). This article explores the perceptions of these two educators in the primary classroom, teachers (N = 31), and science outreach practitioners (N = 30), with respect to their theoretical stance on the construct of creativity and secondly their application of creativity in practice. The interview method used engaged research participants in a dialectical analysis of conceptual and pedagogical dilemmas. This unique, primarily qualitative methodology, provides evidence to differentiate perspectives of these two groups. Results indicate that participants generate new understandings by engaging in dialectical reflection and critical analysis of the two binaries. They also reveal that although outreach practitioners and teachers align in their perception of

To achieve economic growth, countries such as Ireland need to continue investing in scientific enterprise, which necessitates having more students choose and follow scientific careers. Current literature and policies point out that science education needs structural and methodological changes to respond to this objective of challenging our youth to choose science. This has resulted in an increasing call for science outreach interventions. The main objective of this study is to confront primary level teachers and science outreach practitioners with methodological issues for fostering students' interest in science. This mixed dialectic research method will be applied in order to investigate and design an effective model(s) of science outreach. It also aims to comprehend where the issues and tensions lie between science outreach and science education and how they affect the potential for the creation of partnerships between schools and outreach providers.