Science Teachers’ Perceptions and Self-Efficacy Beliefs Related to Integrated Science Education

Abstract

To understand how integrated science education (ISE) can be transferred into successful classroom practices, it is important to understand teachers’ perceptions and self-efficacy. The focus of this study is twofold: (1) to understand how teachers perceive ISE and (2) to assess if science teachers’ perceptions of and experiences with integrated education correlate with their views on self-efficacy in relation to ISE. Ninety-five Finnish science teachers participated in an online survey study. A mixed method approach via exploratory factor analysis and data-driven content analysis was used. Self-efficacy emerged as a key factor explaining teachers’ perceptions of and their lack of confidence in implementing ISE as well as their need for support. In addition, teachers regarded ISE as a relevant teaching method, but challenging to implement, and teachers primarily applied integrated approaches irregularly and seldom. Furthermore, teachers’ experiences with integrated activities and collaboration correlated with their views on integrated education and self-efficacy. These findings indicate teachers need support to better understand and implement ISE.

Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs of Palestinian Elementary Education Students

“…Moss et al [28] considered a value of 0.6 as acceptable and DeVellis [29] considered it as undesirable. The low alpha of the Outcome Expectancy Scale can also be interpreted by the relatively small number of items (10) that constitute this scale.…”

“…Therefore, gender may not have meaningful influence on participants' science teaching efficacy beliefs. Negatively stated items (3,6,8,10,13,17,19,20,21,23) were not reverse scored in this table.…”

“…Practices indicated growing persistence with students in circumstances of failure, less didactic teaching, higher professional commitment, and commitment to identifying more effective instructional strategies. Also, Haatainen, Turkka and Aksela [10] reported that teachers' experiences with integrated activities and classroom practices correlated with self-efficacy. Boz and Cetin-Dindar [11] investigated the relationship among teaching concerns, efficacy, and classroom preference for preservice science teachers.…”

Investigating Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs for Teaching Science Through Engineering Design Processes

“…Previous research reported that individuals' experience of specific topics enhanced their self-efficacy of these topics (Chen et al, 2021;Haatainen et al, 2021;Srikoom & Faikhamta, 2018;Webb, 2015). More specifically, previous research indicated that science teachers' self-efficacy in STEM education and teaching with engineering design was associated with their experience in teaching science using these approaches (Chen et al, 2021), and this teaching experience influenced their self-efficacy, beliefs, and attitude about STEM education (Srikoom & Faikhamta, 2018).…”

“…Considering teachers' selfefficacy and concerns about STEM education, Geng et al (2019) showed that teachers need professional development, pedagogical assistance and curricular tools to apply STEM education in the classroom effectively. A study by Haatainen et al (2021) demonstrated that teachers' opinions on integrated education and self-efficacy were linked to their experiences with integrated activities and teamwork. In her study, Webb (2015) concluded that mastery of experiences and cultivating a growth attitude through embracing the engineering design process were primarily responsible for selfefficacy increases.…”