Exploring the Effects of Preschool Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs on Content-Based Pedagogical Conceptualizations and PCK Integrations towards Science Teaching

Ali Yigit Kutluca 1 * , Nilay Mercan 2
More Detail
1 Department of Elementary Education, Faculty of Education, Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, TURKEY
2 Preschool Education, Institute of Graduate Studies, Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, TURKEY
* Corresponding Author
EUR J SCI MATH ED, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp. 170-192. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/11661
Published: 02 February 2022
OPEN ACCESS   1545 Views   1100 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

This exploratory case study aims to determine how preschool teachers’ epistemological beliefs influence their pedagogical conceptualizations of science teaching. The research was conducted with a total of 10 teachers that were selected among 61 preschool teachers by their epistemological beliefs. The participants were divided into two sub-groups consisting of five persons each to represent the lower and higher epistemological profiles, based on their scores obtained from the Epistemological Belief Scale Towards Learning (EBSTL). A written form (Content Representation Task [CRT]) reflecting the content representations (CoRes) methodology was applied to determine these participants’ pedagogical conceptualizations of early childhood science teaching and to reveal their PCK integration. The qualitative data collected in this way were analyzed through the constant comparative method, inductive content analysis, in-depth explicit PCK analysis, enumerative approach, and PCK mapping. The analysis results showed that preschool teachers in the higher epistemological beliefs referred more to the science literacy vision and tended to use inquiry-based teaching approaches, and they addressed science teaching in a more holistic structure. Finally, both groups of teachers were insufficient to integrate assessment and curriculum components into early childhood science teaching. The results showed that epistemological beliefs directed the early childhood science teaching practices based on science literacy vision.
Keywords: preschool teacher, epistemological beliefs, early science teaching, pedagogical conceptualizations

CITATION

Kutluca, A. Y., & Mercan, N. (2022). Exploring the Effects of Preschool Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs on Content-Based Pedagogical Conceptualizations and PCK Integrations towards Science Teaching. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10(2), 170-192. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/11661

REFERENCES

  • Abell, S. K. (2008). Twenty years later: Does pedagogical content knowledge remain a useful idea? International Journal of Science Education, 30(10), 1405-1416. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802187041
  • Akerson, V. L., Buck, G. A., Donnelly, L. A., Nargund-Joshi, V., & Weiland, I. S. (2011). The importance of teaching and learning nature of science in the early childhood years. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(5), 537-549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9312-5
  • Alexander, R. (2004). Still no pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34(1), 7-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764042000183106
  • Andersson, K., & Gullberg, A. (2014). What is science in preschool and what do teachers have to know to empower children? Cultural Studies of Science Education, 9(2), 275-296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-012-9439-6
  • Appleton, K. (2006). Science pedagogical content knowledge and elementary school teachers. In K. Appleton (Ed.), Elementary science teacher education: International perspectives on contemporary issues and practice (pp. 31-54). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Areljung, S. (2019). Why do teachers adopt or resist a pedagogical idea for teaching science in preschool? International Journal of Early Years Education, 27(3), 238-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1481733
  • Arias, A. M., Davis, E. A., Marino, J. C., Kademian, S. M., & Palincsar, A. S. (2016). Teachers’ use of educative curriculum materials to engage students in science practices. International Journal of Science Education, 38(9), 1504-1526. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1198059
  • Aydin, A., & Guney, M. Y. (2017). The effects of activities developed in accordance with the constructivist approach on pre-school teacher candidates’ learning the science concepts. Journal of Kirsehir Education Faculty, 18(1), 181-201.
  • Aydin, S., Demirdogen, B., Akin, F. N., Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, E., & Tarkin, A. (2015). The nature and development of interaction among components of pedagogical content knowledge in practicum. Teaching and Teacher Education, 46, 37-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.10.008
  • Barenthien, J. M., & Dunekacke, S. (2021). The implementation of early science education in preschool teachers’ initial teacher education. A survey of teacher educators about their aims, practices and challenges in teaching science. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2021.1962443
  • Barenthien, J., Lindner, M. A., Ziegler, T., & Steffensky, M. (2020). Exploring preschool teachers’ science-specific knowledge. Early Years, 40(3), 335-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2018.1443321
  • Bauer, J. R., & Booth, A. E. (2019). Exploring potential cognitive foundations of scientific literacy in preschoolers: Causal reasoning and executive function. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 46, 275-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.09.007
  • Bazeley, P. (2013). Qualitative data analysis: Practical strategies. SAGE.
  • Bedel, E. F. (2012). An examination of locus of control, epistemological beliefs and metacognitive awareness in preservice early childhood teachers. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 12(4), 3051-3060.
  • Bell, R. L., & Clair, T. L. S. (2015). Too little, too late: Addressing nature of science in early childhood education. In K. C. Trundle, & M. Sackes (Eds.), Research in early childhood science education (pp.125-141). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9505-0_6
  • Beyer, C. J., & Davis, E. A. (2012). Developing preservice elementary teachers’ pedagogical design capacity for reform‐based curriculum design. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(3), 386-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2012.00599.x
  • Brenneman, K. (2011). Assessment for preschool science learning and learning environments. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 13(1), 1-9.
  • Broström, S. (2015). Science in early childhood education. Journal of Education and Human Development, 4(2), 107-124. https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v4n2_1a12
  • Brown, M. W. (2011). The teacher-tool relationship: Theorizing the design and use of curriculum materials. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp. 17-36). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2010.526102
  • Brownlee, J. (2001). Epistemological beliefs in pre-service teacher education students. Higher Education Research & Development, 20(3), 281-291. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360120108377
  • Brownlee, J. M., Edwards, A., Berthelsen, D. C., & Boulton-Lewis, G. M. (2011). Self-authorship in childcare student teachers. In G. Schraw, J. J. Brownlee, & D. Berthelsen (Eds.), Personal epistemology and teacher education (pp. 68-83). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203806616
  • Brownlee, J., & Berthelsen, D. (2006). Personal epistemology and relational pedagogy in early childhood teacher education programs. Early Years, 26(1), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575140500507785
  • Brownlee, J., Boulton‐Lewis, G., & Berthelsen, D. (2008). Epistemological beliefs in childcare: Implications for vocational education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(3), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709907X262503
  • Bybee, R. W. (2013). The next generation science standards and the life sciences. Science and Children, 50(6), 25-32.
  • Chan, K. K. H., & Hume, A. (2019). Towards a consensus model: Literature review of how science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge is investigated in empirical studies. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Borowski (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ knowledge for teaching science (pp. 3-76). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_1
  • Chan, K. W., & Elliott, R. G. (2002). Exploratory study of Hong Kong teacher education students’ epistemological beliefs: Cultural perspectives and implications on beliefs research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27(3), 392-414. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.2001.1102
  • Charlesworth, R., & Lind, D. (2010). Science and math for young children. Delmar.
  • Chen, J. A. (2012). Implicit theories, epistemic beliefs, and science motivation: A person-centered approach. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(6), 724-735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2012.07.013
  • Davis, E. A., Janssen, F. J., & Van Driel, J. H. (2016). Teachers and science curriculum materials: Where we are and where we need to go. Studies in Science Education, 52(2), 127-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2016.1161701
  • Davis, E., Palincsar, A. S., Arias, A. M., Bismack, A. S., Marulis, L., & Iwashyna, S. (2014). Designing educative curriculum materials: A theoretically and empirically driven process. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 24-52. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.g48488u230616264
  • Demirdogen, B. (2016). Interaction between science teaching orientation and pedagogical content knowledge components. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(5), 495-532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9472-5
  • Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), 80-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689812437186
  • Duran, M., Usak, M., Hsieh, M. Y., & Uygun, H. (2021). A new perspective on pedagogical content knowledge: Intellectual and emotional characteristics of science teachers. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala [Journal of Research and Social Intervention], 72, 9-32. https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.72.1
  • Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x
  • Erden, F. T., & Sonmez, S. (2011). Study of Turkish preschool teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching. International Journal of Science Education, 33(8), 1149-1168. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2010.511295
  • Ezzy, D. (2013). Qualitative analysis. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315015484
  • Fleer, M. (2013). Collective imagining in play. In I. Schousboe, & D. Winther-Lindqvist (Eds.), Children’s play and development (pp. 73-87). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6579-5_5
  • Fleer, M. (2019). The role of subjectivity in understanding teacher development in a scientific playworld: The emotional and symbolic nature of being a teacher of science. In F. González Rey, A. Mitjáns Martínez, & D. Magalhães Goulart (Eds.), Subjectivity within cultural-historical approach (pp. 149-164). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3155-8_9
  • Flick, U. (2018). Triangulation in data collection. SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070.n34
  • Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw-Hill.
  • Fram, S. M. (2013). The constant comparative analysis method outside of grounded theory. Qualitative Report, 18(1), 1-25.
  • Gao, S., Damico, N., & Gelfuso, A. (2021). Mapping and reflecting on integration of the components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching natural selection: A case study of an experienced middle-school science teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 107, 103473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103473
  • Gerde, H. K., Pierce, S. J., Lee, K., & Van Egeren, L. A. (2018). Early childhood educators’ self-efficacy in science, math, and literacy instruction and science practice in the classroom. Early Education and Development, 29(1), 70-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1360127
  • Gerring, J. (2004). What is a case study and what is it good for? American Political Science Review, 98(2), 341-354. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055404001182
  • Gess‐Newsome, J. (2015). A model of teacher professional knowledge and skill including PCK: Results of the thinking from the PCK Summit. In A. Berry, P. Friedrichsen, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Re‐examining pedagogical content knowledge in science education (pp. 38-52). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315735665-8
  • Gess-Newsome, J., Taylor, J. A., Carlson, J., Gardner, A. L., Wilson, C. D., & Stuhlsatz, M. A. (2019). Teacher pedagogical content knowledge, practice, and student achievement. International Journal of Science Education, 41(7), 944-963. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1265158
  • Gopnik, A. (2012). Scientific thinking in young children: Theoretical advances, empirical research, and policy implications. Science, 337(6102), 1623-1627. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1223416
  • Graue, M. E., Whyte, K. L., & Karabon, A. E. (2015). The power of improvisational teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 48, 13-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.01.014
  • Gropen, J., Kook, J. F., Hoisington, C., & Clark-Chiarelli, N. (2017). Foundations of science literacy: Efficacy of a preschool professional development program in science on classroom instruction, teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, and children’s observations and predictions. Early Education and Development, 28(5), 607-631. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1279527
  • Grossman, P. L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. Teachers College Press.
  • Gunn, A. A., Bennett, S. V., Alley, K. M., Barrera IV, E. S., Cantrell, S. C., Moore, L., & Welsh, J. L. (2021). Revisiting culturally responsive teaching practices for early childhood preservice teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 42(3), 265-280. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2020.1735586
  • Hamel, E., Joo, Y., Hong, S. Y., & Burton, A. (2021). Teacher questioning practices in early childhood science activities. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49, 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01075-z
  • Hand, B., Park, S., & Suh, J. K. (2018). Examining teachers’ shifting epistemic orientations in improving students’ scientific literacy through adoption of the Science Writing Heuristic approach. In K. S. Tang, & K. Danielsson (Eds.), Global developments in literacy research for science education (pp. 339-355). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69197-8_20
  • Hashweh, M. (2013). Pedagogical content knowledge: Twenty-five years later. In C. J. Craig, P. C. Meijer, & J. Broeckmans (Eds.), From teacher thinking to teachers and teaching: The evolution of a research community (pp. 115-140). Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3687(2013)0000019009
  • Hashweh, M. Z. (1996). Effects of science teachers’ epistemological beliefs in teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(1), 47-63. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199601)33:1<47::AID-TEA3>3.0.CO;2-P
  • Hedges, H., & Cullen, J. (2005). Subject knowledge in early childhood curriculum and pedagogy: Beliefs and practices. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 6(1), 66-79. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2005.6.1.10
  • Ho, H. N. J., & Liang, J. C. (2015). The relationships among scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and motivation of learning science: a study of Taiwan high school students. International Journal of Science Education, 37(16), 2688-2707. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1100346
  • Karabon, A. (2021). Examining how early childhood preservice teacher funds of knowledge shapes pedagogical decision making. Teaching and Teacher Education, 106, 103449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103449
  • Kind, V. (2009). Pedagogical content knowledge in science education: Perspectives and potential for progress. Studies in Science Education, 45(2), 169-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260903142285
  • Kutluca, A. Y. (2021a). An investigation of elementary teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for socioscientific argumentation: The effect of a learning and teaching experience. Science Education, 105(4), 743-775. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21624
  • Kutluca, A. Y. (2021b). Investigation of the interactions among preschool teachers' components of pedagogical content knowledge for early science teaching. Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal, 10(1), 117-137. https://doi.org/10.37134/saecj.vol10.1.10.2021
  • Kutluca, A. Y., & Nacar, S. (2021). Exploring preschool teachers' pedagogical content knowledge: The effect of professional experience. Journal of Science Learning, 4(2), 160-172. https://doi.org/10.17509/jsl.v4i2.31599
  • Kutluca, A. Y., Soysal, Y., & Radmard, S. (2018). Reliability and applied adaptation study of the epistemological belief scale towards learning. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education, 14(2), 129-152. https://doi.org/10.17244/eku.335287
  • Larimore, R. A. (2020). Preschool science education: A vision for the future. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48, 703-714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01033-9
  • Liang, J. C., & Tsai, C. C. (2010). Relational analysis of college science‐major students’ epistemological beliefs toward science and conceptions of learning science. International Journal of Science Education, 32(17), 2273-2289. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690903397796
  • Loughran, J., Mulhall, P., & Berry, A. (2008). Exploring pedagogical content knowledge in science teacher education. International Journal of Science Education, 30(10), 1301-1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802187009
  • Magnusson, S., Krajcik, J., & Borko, H. (1999). Nature, sources, and development of pedagogical content knowledge for science teaching. In J. Gess-Newsome, & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Examining pedagogical content knowledge (pp. 95-132). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47217-1_4
  • 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
  • McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2010). Research in education: Evidence based inquiry, my education lab series. Pearson.
  • Merino, C., Olivares, C., Navarro, A., Ávalos, K., & Quiroga, M. (2014). Characterization of the beliefs of preschool teachers about sciences. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 4193-4198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.915
  • Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. SAGE.
  • MoNE. (2013). Early childhood education program. Ministry of National Education. Ankara, Turkey.
  • Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M. M., & Maczuga, S. (2016). Science achievement gaps begin very early, persist, and are largely explained by modifiable factors. Educational Researcher, 45(1), 18-35. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182
  • Morse, J. M. (1991). Approaches to qualitative-quantitative methodological triangulation. Nursing Research, 40(2), 120-123. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006199-199103000-00014
  • National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press.
  • Nayfeld, I., Brenneman, K., & Gelman, R. (2011). Science in the classroom: Finding a balance between autonomous exploration and teacher-led instruction in preschool settings. Early Education & Development, 22(6), 970-988. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.507496
  • Neuman, S. B., & Danielson, K. (2021). Enacting content-rich curriculum in early childhood: The role of teacher knowledge and pedagogy. Early Education and Development, 32(3), 443-458. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1753463
  • NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. The National Academy Press.
  • Nilsson, P. (2014). When teaching makes a difference: Developing science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge through learning study. International Journal of Science Education, 36(11), 1794-1814. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.879621
  • Nilsson, P., & Loughran, J. (2012). Exploring the development of pre-service science elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23(7), 699-721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-011-9239-y
  • Nilsson, P. (2015). Catching the moments—Coteaching to stimulate science in the preschool context. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 296-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2015.1060292
  • NSTA. (2014). NSTA position statement: Early childhood science education. Science and Children, 51(7), 10-12.
  • Oppermann, E., Brunner, M., & Anders, Y. (2019). The interplay between preschool teachers’ science self-efficacy beliefs, their teaching practices, and girls’ and boys’ early science motivation. Learning and Individual Differences, 70, 86-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2019.01.006
  • Ozbey, S., & Alisinanoglu, F. (2008). Identifying the general ideas, attitudes and expectations pertaining to science activities of the teachers employed in preschool education. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 5(2), 83-96.
  • Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307-332. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307
  • Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), 533-544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y
  • Park, S. (2019). Reconciliation between the refined consensus model of PCK and extant PCK models for advancing PCK research in science. In A. Hume, R. Cooper, & A. Borowski (Eds.), Repositioning pedagogical content knowledge in teachers’ knowledge for teaching science (pp. 119-130). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5898-2_4
  • Park, S., & Chen, Y. C. (2012). Mapping out the integration of the components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): Examples from high school biology classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(7), 922-941. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21022
  • Park, S., & Oliver, J. S. (2008). Revisiting the conceptualisation of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): PCK as a conceptual tool to understand teachers as professionals. Research in Science Education, 38(3), 261-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-007-9049-6
  • Piasta, S. B., Pelatti, C. Y., & Miller, H. L. (2014). Mathematics and science learning opportunities in preschool classrooms. Early Education and Development, 25(4), 445-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.817753
  • Pierro, R. C. (2019). What leads to effective science-teaching practices in preschool classrooms? An examination of teachers’ person, context, and time influences on science teaching [Doctoral dissertation, The University of North Carolina].
  • Prachagool, V., Nuangchalerm, P., Subramaniam, G., & Dostál, J. (2016). Pedagogical decision making through the lens of teacher preparation program. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 4(1), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.17478/JEGYS.2016116351
  • Sackes, M. (2014). How often do early childhood teachers teach science concepts? Determinants of the frequency of science teaching in kindergarten. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(2), 169-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2012.704305
  • Sackes, M., Flevares, L. M., & Trundle, K. C. (2010). Four-to six-year-old children’s conceptions of the mechanism of rainfall. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(4), 536-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.01.001
  • Sackes, M., Flevares, L. M., Gonya, J., & Trundle, K. C. (2012). Preservice early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy for integrating mathematics and science: Impact of a methods course. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 33(4), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2012.732666
  • Sackes, M., Trundle, K. C., & Bell, R. L. (2013). Science learning experiences in kindergarten and children’s growth in science performance in elementary grades. Education & Science, 38(167), 114-127.
  • Saglam, M., & Aral, N. (2015). The study of determine pre-school teachers’ ideas about science education. Inonu University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 16(3), 87-102. https://doi.org/10.17679/iuefd.16308213
  • Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 498-504. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.82.3.498
  • Schommer-Aikins, M. (2004). Explaining the epistemological belief system: Introducing the embedded systemic model and coordinated research approach. Educational Psychologist, 39(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3901_3
  • Schraw, G., Bendixen, L. D., & Dunkle, M. E. (2002). Development and validation of the epistemic belief Inventory (EBI). In B. Hofer, & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 261-277). Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Sengul, O., Enderle, P. J., & Schwartz, R. S. (2020). Science teachers’ use of argumentation instructional model: Linking PCK of argumentation, epistemological beliefs, and practice. International Journal of Science Education, 42(7), 1068-1086. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1748250
  • Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004
  • Sing Chai, C., Teo, T., & Beng Lee, C. (2009). The change in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning: A study among pre-service teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(4), 351-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598660903250381
  • Smolkin L. B., & Donovan C.A. (2015) Science and literacy: Considering the role of texts in early childhood science education. In: C. K. Trundle, & M. Sackes (Eds.), Research in early childhood science education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9505-0_10
  • Suh, J. K., & Park, S. (2017). Exploring the relationship between pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and sustainability of an innovative science teaching approach. Teaching and Teacher Education, 64, 246-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.01.021
  • Sundberg, B., & Ottander, C. (2013). The conflict within the role: A longitudinal study of preschool student teachers’ developing competence in and attitudes towards science teaching in relation to developing a professional role. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34(1), 80-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2013.758540
  • Tanase, M., & Wang, J. (2010). Initial epistemological beliefs transformation in one teacher education classroom: Case study of four preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(6), 1238-1248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.02.009
  • Thomas, G. (2015). How to do your case study. SAGE.
  • Thulin, S., & Redfors, A. (2017). Student preschool teachers’ experiences of science and its role in preschool. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(4), 509-520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0783-0
  • Toyama, N. (2016). Preschool teachers’ explanations for hygiene habits and young children’s biological awareness of contamination. Early Education and Development, 27(1), 38-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1036347
  • Trundle, K. C., & Sackes, M. (2015). The inclusion of science in early childhood classrooms. In C. Trundle, & M. Sackes (Eds.), Research in early childhood science education (pp. 1-6). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9505-0_1
  • Tsai, C. C., Ho, H. N. J., Liang, J. C., & Lin, H. M. (2011). Scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science and self-efficacy of learning science among high school students. Learning and Instruction, 21(6), 757-769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2011.05.002
  • Ugras, M., & Cil, E. (2018). Effect of nature of science activities on nature of science and scientific epistemological beliefs of pre-service preschool teachers. The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational & Social Sciences, 4, 352-356.
  • Wilinski, B. (2017). Knowing and interpreting prekindergarten policy: A Bakhtinian analysis. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(27), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2211
  • Worth, K. (2010). Science in early childhood classrooms: Content and process. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 12(2), 1-17.
  • Wright, T. S., & Gotwals, A. W. (2017). Supporting kindergartners’ science talk in the context of an integrated science and disciplinary literacy curriculum. The Elementary School Journal, 117(3), 513-537. https://doi.org/10.1086/690273
  • Wu, D., Liao, T., Yang, W., & Li, H. (2021). Exploring the relationships between scientific epistemic beliefs, science teaching beliefs and science-specific PCK among pre-service kindergarten teachers in China. Early Education and Development, 32(1), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1771971