Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Abstract
Concern has been raised globally that a lack of interest by teachers towards teaching science has a negative impact on the children they teach. While attention has been paid to the teacher as a contributing factor to students’ attitudes, less has been written about the attitudes of teachers. To bridge this gap, the current study examines six Year 8 teachers’ attitudes towards teaching science in a New Zealand intermediate school. Biographical data was gathered and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted that explored the teachers’ attitudes. van Aalderen-Smeets et al.’s (2012) framework, which takes a multidimensional view of attitudes, is used as a lens to examine the attitudes of the participants in the current study. In general, the participants had a positive attitude towards teaching science. The dimensions contributing to their positivity or negativity are discussed. Implications for supporting teachers to teach science through professional learning and development opportunities in order to create positive attitudes to teach science are proposed.
Recommended Citation
Ualesi, Y., & Ward, G. (2018). Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Science in a New Zealand Intermediate School. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(6). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n6.3