Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs

Paschalina-Liana Stylianou

doi:10.30935/aquademia/12489

Full Text (PDF)

Paschalina-Liana Stylianou ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Western Macedonia, Kila Kozani, GREECE^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The present research explores whether environmental education practices and methods can serve as a professional development tool and help science teachers to transform theory into educational practice. To answer this question, the perceptions of 40 experienced science teachers implementing environmental education programs were explored. Activity theory was used as an analytical tool to illuminate how teachers relate science teaching to environmental education and to highlight the contradictions and tensions that develop due to the conflict between the dominant positivist model of science teaching and the child-centered model of constructivism adopted by environmental education. The analysis showed that environmental education has the potential to lead to the desired transformation if implemented in a way that is consistent with its principles and objectives. It can also support horizontal professional development efforts as it utilizes the very strong intrinsic and personal motivations of teachers that drive them to engage in environmental education programs.

Keywords

environmental education
teaching
science teachers
professional development
activity theory

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

AQUADEMIA, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2022, Article No: ep22012

https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

Publication date: 02 Oct 2022

Article Views: 1050

Article Downloads: 731

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Attema-Noordewier, S., Korthagen, F., & Zwart, R. (2011). Promoting quality from within: A new perspective on professional development in schools. In M. Kooy, & K. van Veen (Eds.), Teacher learning that matters: International perspectives (pp. 115-142). Routledge.
Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher professional development in teaching and teacher education over ten years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(1), 10-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.007
Bascopé, M., Perasso, P., & Reiss, K. (2019). Systematic review of education for sustainable development at an early stage: Cornerstones and pedagogical approaches for teacher professional development. Sustainability, 11(3), 719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030719
Bencze, L., Pouliot, C., Pedretti, E., Simonneaux, L., Simonneaux, J., & Zeidler, D. (2020). SAQ, SSI and STSE education: Defending and extending “science-in-context”. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 15, 825-851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-019-09962-7
Engeström, Y. (1993). Developmental studies of work as a test bench of activity theory. In S. Chaiklin, & J. Lave (Eds.), Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context, (pp. 64-103). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511625510.004
Engeström, Y. (1996). Development as breaking away and opening up: A challenge to Vygotsky and Piaget. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 55, 126-132.
Engeström, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work–Toward an activity: Theoretical conceptualization. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 133-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080020028747
Engeström, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2009.12.002
Forbes, C., Madeira, C., Davis, E., & Slotta, J. (2009). Activity-theoretical research on science teachers’ learning: Challenges and opportunities [Paper presentation]. The Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Ghisloti-Lared, V., Di Tullio, A., Payne, P., & Torres de Oliveira, H. (2015). Philosophical hermeneutics and critical pedagogy in environmental education research and practice. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 20, 123-138.
Gough, A. (2020). Environmental/sustainability education in a global context. In J. C.-K. Lee, & N. Gough (Eds.), Transnational education and curriculum studies: International perspectives (pp. 99-113). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351061629
Jones, M., & Leagon, M. (2014). Science teacher attitudes and beliefs. In N. G. Lederman, & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 830-847). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203097267
Kayi-Aydar, H. (2015). Teacher agency, positioning, and English language learners: Voices of pre-service classroom teachers. Teaching and Teachers Education, 45, 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.09.009
Korthagen, F. A. J. (2014). Promoting core reflection in teacher education: Deepening professional growth. In International teacher education: Promising pedagogies (pp. 73-89). Emerald Group Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-368720140000022007
Krasny, M. (2020). Advancing environmental education practice. Cornell University Press. https://doi.org/10.7298/7xn0-bp18
Lederman, N., & Lederman, J. (2019). Teaching and learning nature of scientific knowledge: Is it déjà vu all over again? Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research 1(6), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-019-0002-0
Mansour, N. (2013). Consistencies and inconsistencies between science teachers’ beliefs and practices. International Journal of Science Education, 35(7), 1230-1275. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2012.743196
Mohan, P. P., Lingam, G. I., & Chand, D. (2017). Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of professional development on learning and teaching in a developing nation. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(11), 18-33. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n11.2
Murphy, C., Mallon, B., Smith, G., Kelly, O., Pitsia, V., & Martinez Sainz, G. (2021). The influence of a teachers’ professional development programme on primary school pupils understanding of and attitudes towards sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 27(7), 1011-1036. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1889470
Pang, N., Wang, T., S.-K., & Leung, Z. L.-M. (2016). Educational reforms and the practices of professional learning community in Hong Kong primary schools. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(2), 231-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2016.1148852
Pedder, D., & Opfer, V. D. (2013). Professional learning orientations: Patterns of dissonance and alignment between teachers’ values and practices. Research Papers in Education, 28(5), 539-570. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2012.706632
Postholm, M. B. (2018). Teachers’ professional development in school: A review study. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1522781. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1522781
Postholm, Μ. Β. (2012). Teachers’ professional development: A theoretical review. Educational Research, 54(4), 405-429. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2012.734725
Rannikmäe, M., Holbrook, J., & Soobard, R. (2020). Social constructivism—Jerome Bruner. In B. Akpan, & T. J. Kennedy (Eds.), Science education in theory and practice (pp. 259-275). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_18
Reis, G., & Roth, W.-M. (2010). A feeling for the environment: Emotion talk in/for the pedagogy of public environmental education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 41(2), 71-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958960903295217
Saka, Y., Southerland, S., Kittleson, J., & Hunter, T. (2013). Understanding the induction of a science teacher: The interaction of identity and context. Research in Science Education, 43(3), 1221-1244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-012-9310-5
Sannino, A., & Engeström, Y. (2018). Cultural-historical activity theory: Founding insights and new challenges. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 14(3), 43-56. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2018140304
Sannino, A., & Nocon, H. (2008). Special issue editors’ introduction: Activity theory and school innovation. Journal Education Change, 9(4), 325-332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-008-9079-5
Savasci, F., & Berlin, D. R. (2012). Science teacher beliefs and classroom practice related to constructivism in different school settings. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23(1), 65-86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-011-9262-z
UNESCO. (2018). Issues and trends in education for sustainable development. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/file/69206/download?token=r_65VVK_
Voerman, L., Meijer, P., Korthagen, F., & Simons, R. (2015). Promoting effective teacher-feedback: From theory to practice through a multiple component trajectory for professional development. Teachers and Teaching, 21(8), 990-1009. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1005868
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Yoo, J., & Carter, D. (2017). Teacher emotion and learning as praxis: Professional development that matters. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(3), 38-52. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n3.3

How to cite this article

APA

Stylianou, P.-L. (2022). Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs. Aquademia, 6(2), ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

Vancouver

Stylianou PL. Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs. AQUADEMIA. 2022;6(2):ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

AMA

Stylianou PL. Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs. AQUADEMIA. 2022;6(2), ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

Chicago

Stylianou, Paschalina-Liana. "Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs". Aquademia 2022 6 no. 2 (2022): ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

Harvard

Stylianou, P.-L. (2022). Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs. Aquademia, 6(2), ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489

MLA

Stylianou, Paschalina-Liana "Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development via Environmental Education Programs". Aquademia, vol. 6, no. 2, 2022, ep22012. https://doi.org/10.30935/aquademia/12489