What Influences Attitudes and Confidence in Teaching Physics and Technology Topics? An Investigation in Kindergarten and Primary-School Trainee Teachers

This study investigated the correlations of general knowledge, vocational interests, and personality with trainee teachers’ attitudes and perceived capabilities in teaching physics and technology topics in kindergarten and primary school. A quantitative survey was composed using the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire, the general knowledge test BOWIT, the general interest structure test AIST-R, and the 10-item Big Five Inventory. The sample consisted of 196 female trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, and the results showed that only a few trainee teachers favoured teaching physics and technology topics. The bivariate analyses indicated that investigative and realistic interests were highly correlated with their confidence in teaching physics and technology topics, followed by significant relationships with possessing general knowledge in science and technology. The relationships with personality, especially neuroticism and extraversion, were also evident, but they were not as strong. The results were further differentiated in various subgroups (i.e., a group who favoured teaching physics and technology topics versus a group who did not, as well as a group with the typical interest profile of kindergarten and primary-school teachers versus a group with a social and investigative interest profile), which provided additional insights.

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Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes toward Integration of Students with Disabilities in the General Classroom in Nepal

The Journal of Inclusive Education ◽

10.26592/ksie.2017.12.2.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Jung Dae Young ◽

Smriti Rai

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Students With Disabilities ◽

School Teachers ◽

Primary School Teachers ◽

General Classroom ◽

Teachers Attitudes

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An analysis of attitudes towards the gifted students with learning difficulties using two samples of Greek and Czech primary school teachers

Gifted Education International ◽

10.1177/0261429413511887 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 271-286 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Aikaterini Gari ◽

Kostas Mylonas ◽

Sarka Portešová

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

Gifted Students ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

School Teachers ◽

Primary School Teachers ◽

Two Samples ◽

Years Of Teaching Experience ◽

Separate System ◽

Teachers Attitudes

The provision of gifted students with learning difficulties (GSLD) composes a complicated educational problem that deserves special care. This study explores teachers’ attitudes towards the GSLD in two samples of primary school teachers: 225 Greek teachers and 158 teachers in the Czech Republic, 40–59 years of age and with 14–28 years of teaching experience. A questionnaire of 26 questions, created for the purpose of this study, was administered referring to teachers’ attitudes towards opinions and information regarding the GSLD characteristics, along with three open-ended questions on the most preferable types of the GSLD educational provision. Through multidimensional scaling solutions in their trigonometric transformation (MDS-T) one large common and one minor separate system of items emerged for the two samples, which were meaningful in the direction of understanding teachers’ difficulties in accepting the contradictory core of the GSLD characteristics and educational needs. These systems of attitudes are discussed in respect to their relative importance to Czech and Greek teachers and the respective educational settings.

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Primary school teachers’ attitudes towards digital educational games: Preliminary findings from the Multiplication Game evaluation

10.1109/iisa52424.2021.9555513 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Angeliki Leonardou ◽

Maria Rigou ◽

John Garofalakis

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Educational Games ◽

School Teachers ◽

Primary School Teachers ◽

Teachers Attitudes

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Mathematics Attitudes and Achievement among Student Teachers

Australian Journal of Education ◽

10.1177/000494417802200106 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 72-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Hilary L. Schofield ◽

K. B. Start

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Student Teachers ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Mathematics Attitudes ◽

School Teachers ◽

Partial Explanation ◽

Primary School Teachers ◽

Achievement In Mathematics ◽

Teachers Attitudes

Concern regarding the prevalence in primary school teachers of poor attitudes towards and low achievement in mathematics has received some empirical support. But the common assumptions (i) that attitudes towards, and achievement in, mathematics are substantially related, and (ii) that teachers' attitudes and achievement in mathematics affect pupils' attitudes and achievement, await empirical verification. While studies relating teachers' attitudes toward pupils' attitudes and achievements are sparse, those relating attitude and achievement within teachers or within pupils have typically shown a low positive relationship not always reaching statistical significance. Some writers use this as evidence to discount the importance of attitudes in achievement, but the present paper contends that a partial explanation for the lack of the expected result may arise from the measurement assumption that attitude to mathematics is a unidimensional phenomenon. Two multidimensional attitude instruments were constructed and administered to 317 final year prospective primary school teachers. Although the two instruments employed widely differing techniques for tapping attitudes to mathematics and mathematics teaching, dimensions from both instruments showed substantial correlations with mathematics achievement. The findings gave support for the contention that attitude to mathematics is not a unidimensional phenomenon. The consistency of findings within and between both attitude instruments suggests a good validation of each. The contention that teachers' attitudes (and achievement) affect pupil attitudes and achievement is yet to be tested.

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