Preschool and Elementary Teacher’s Conceptions and Practices about Science Education

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the nature of early childhood educators´ and primary school teachers´ conceptions and practices of science teaching. Particularly, about of practical/experimental activities. It was intended specifically to understand the importance to educators and teachers of performing practical/experimental activities and to identify their difficulties when implementing it. To achieve these goals, we used a methodological approach of a qualitative nature and used the questionnaire as a data collection instrument. Four educators and 14 teachers of 1st Cycle of Basic Education participated in this study. The detailed analysis of the answers by categories allowed us to conclude that the education professionals who value more science teaching are mostly the same that revealed a greater openness to practical/experimental science activities. The results did not allow to establish significant differences between educators and teachers, however, the latter stand out regarding the frequency with which they implement practical/experimental activities. Concerning the difficulties experienced in the preparation and implementation of activities, most of the answers point to the lack of resources in schools. Only two participants identified an intrinsic difficulty, namely their lack of knowledge.