The Coherence Between Epistemologies and SSI Teaching: A Multiple-Case Study with Three Science Teachers

Area of Science:

• Science Education Research
• Socioscientific Issues (SSI) in Science Teaching

Background:

• Science education reforms encourage dialogic teaching for socioscientific issues (SSI).
• Teachers face challenges shifting from monologic to dialogic SSI instruction.
• Teacher epistemologies may impede this pedagogical shift.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between science teachers' epistemologies and their discourse during SSI teaching.
• To understand how teachers' beliefs about knowledge influence their SSI classroom practices.

Main Methods:

• Purposive sampling selected three science teachers representing non-constructivist, moderately constructivist, and constructivist epistemologies.
• Classroom observations and constructivism-oriented interviews were used to analyze teaching discourse.
• Semi-structured interviews examined teachers' knowledge-based and science-based epistemologies.

Main Results:

• Analysis revealed varying degrees of coherence and incoherence between teachers' epistemologies and their SSI teaching discourse.
• Specific examples demonstrated how differing epistemologies manifested in classroom interactions.
• The study identified patterns linking epistemological stances to teaching approaches in SSI contexts.

Conclusions:

• Science teachers' epistemologies significantly influence their approach to teaching socioscientific issues.
• Understanding these epistemological underpinnings is crucial for effective SSI pedagogy.
• Further research should explore strategies to align teacher beliefs with dialogic SSI teaching.