Exploring Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perspectives on the Nature of Science: A Comparative Study Between China and Canada

Abstract

Purpose: The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of scientific literacy. Science teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) directly affect their teaching behaviors. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore science teachers’ VNOS and find ways of improvement. This study was designed to comparatively investigate preservice science teachers’ VNOS between China and Canada. Design/Approach/Methods: The study employed a survey design to explore how Chinese and Canadian preservice science teachers understood the seven different aspects of NOS. Findings: Data showed that preservice science teachers in China and Canada both hold a modern view about science education. The level of Chinese and Canadian participants’ understanding of NOS was above the relatively naive level. Chinese teachers had better macro-understanding toward science education but their micro-mastery was insufficient. While the Canadian participants had a better understanding of the NOS than their Chinese counterparts. Originality/Value: Based on the research results and the experience of science education and teacher education in Canada, we suggested that there is a need to reconstruct the preservice science teacher education curriculum in China and promote the transformation in the science teacher educational system.

Nature of Science: A Comparative Analysis of the High School Physics Textbooks in Indonesia and Korea

“…According to Liang et al (2009), teachers in China, America, and Turkey have different understandings of NoS owing to cultural differences. Similarly, Zhang et al (2022) reported that pre-service teachers in Canada have a higher comprehension of NoS than pre-service teachers in China. Therefore, in order to learn more about NoS as well as enhancing the related literature, this study was designed to compare NoS in physics textbooks between Indonesia and Korea.…”

“…Understanding the NoS is now regarded as a significant outcome of school-level physics education and a critical component of scientific literacy (Cofré et al, 2014;McComas & Clough, 2020). It is necessary for teachers to elaborate on parts of the NoS in physics education since it can assist students in understanding their environment (Bancong & Song, 2020;Karampelas, 2018;Upahi et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2022). Furthermore, an understanding of the scientific enterprise, including how scientific knowledge is created, as well as its strengths and limitations, will be aided by having an informed view of NoS (Abd-El-Khalick et al, 2008;Ayık & Coştu, 2020).…”

“…Students' perspectives on aspects of the NoS are influenced by the national situation and curriculum content. According to Zhang et al (2022), the differences in understanding of NoS between students in Canada and China may be related to relevant teacher education policies, curricula, and pedagogy. Recently, Bugingo et al (2022) reported on an analysis of the representation of NoS aspects in science curricula, particularly in the physics syllabus in four East African countriies, namely Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.…”

Psychological Well-Being Sustainable during Entrepreneurial Process—The Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Creativity

“…However, does entrepreneurial creativity have the same effect in other countries? For example, Zhang et al (2021) [56] has designed a comparative study to compare the different views of science teachers in China and Canada on entrepreneurship. In the future, comparative studies across countries will be conducted.…”

Investigation of the Conceptual Knowledge of Preschool Teacher Candidates on Science Education

“…When the studies on teacher candidates were examined, it was seen that the opinions of teacher candidates were not at a sufficient level and they had various misconceptions (Abd-El-Khalick et al,1998;Abd-El-Khalick & Akerson, 2004;Köseoğlu et al, 2010;Karaman, 2018;Korkmaz, 2018, Zhang et al, 2021. In their studies with preschool teacher candidates, Erdas-Kartal and Ada (2018) aimed to reveal the current understanding of teacher candidates about the nature of science.…”