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The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate elementary teachers’perceptions concerning the professional development, training, and learning structures ofscience education. Through comparison of participant responses to interview questions,the researcher was able to compare the perceptions of elementary educators at a buildingthat departmentalizes for instruction with educators that are at buildings that implementtraditional classroom structures for science instruction. Three research questions guidedthe study: (1) What are teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of science instruction ina self-contained or departmentalized structure? (2) What are teachers’ perceptions of thelevels of training provided for science teaching in self-contained versus departmentalizedstructures? (3) What are teachers’ perceptions of science teaching during the COVID-19challenges in schools? Results include three findings. The first finding was that teachersin both organizational structures do not believe that professional development preparesthem for teaching science, and that they gain the most from collaboration withcolleagues. The second finding addresses the perception that teachers that implement theintegrated approach feel that science education is not treated with the same respect thatmathematics and literacy standards are given. Science standards are often integrated intoliteracy lessons, so that the topics can be addressed during ELA core. Hands-onactivities, experiments, and projects that are specific to science are not a priority focusdue to the district priority for reading proficiency. The third finding was that mandatoryremote learning pushed science instruction even further down the list of priorities.Findings compare favorably with literature reviewed that suggests teachers must be trained to feel competent. Future research may be helpful to find ways for scienceeducation to become prioritized through a change in organizational structures. |
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