CARACTERÍSTICAS LITERARIAS DE LA OBRA DE KOLTSO

To determine the wider preservice cohort’s current self-efficacy beliefs, the STEBI-B was administered at the beginning of the Primary Science unit. While 140 preservice teachers were enrolled in the unit, 136 completed the STEBI-B at this point. As outlined in Chapter 3, section 3.2.1 of this thesis, the preservice teachers enrolled in the unit included 41 Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years) preservice teachers, 67 Bachelor of Education (Primary) preservice teachers, 16 Master of Teaching (Primary) preservice teachers and 12 preservice teachers were enrolled in another degree, which included the Graduate Diploma (Primary Conversion). Of the total cohort, 115 preservice teachers were female and 21 preservice teachers were male.

The results of the August 2013 administration of the STEBI-B showed the wider preservice teacher cohort had a mean Personal Science Teaching Efficacy (PSTE) of 46.35 and mean Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE) of 34.54. Table 4.1 shows the PSTE and STOE means for males and females from the August administration of the STEBI-B. These results show negligible variance between these means.

Table 4.1

Total Mean STEBI-B PSTE and STOE scores broken down by gender- August 2013

Male Female Df t Sig.

Total Mean PSTE 46.05 46.41 134 1.98 0.84

Total Mean STOE 34.62 34.53 134 1.98 0.92

Table 4.2 shows the mean of both scales when analysed by university degree. Table 4.2

Total Mean STEBI-B PSTE and STOE scores broken down by university degree- August 2013

Degree Total Mean PSTE Total Mean STOE

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years)

42.95 34

Bachelor of Education (Primary) 47.18 34.81

Master of Teaching (Primary) 48.31 36.25

Other 50.45 33.10

When analysed through university degree of enrolment, the mean PSTE of preservice teachers enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years) was lower than the mean Bachelor of Education (Primary), Master of Teaching (Primary) and the Other category. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the differences in PSTE scores for preservice teachers enrolled in different degrees. There was a significant difference between the degrees [F(3, 130) = 4.72, p = 0.004]. Post hoc comparisons using the Scheffe test indicated that the mean score for those enrolled in a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years) (M = 42.95, SD = 7.78) was significantly different than those enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary)(M = 47.18, SD = 6.99) and those enrolled in the Other Category (M = 50.45, SD = 8.70). However, the other comparisons were not significant.

In contrast, those preservice teachers enrolled in the Other category had a mean STOE score, lower than the mean Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years), Bachelor of Education (Primary) and Master of Teaching (Primary). Again, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the differences in STOE scores for preservice teachers enrolled in different degrees. There was no significant variance between the degrees in this test [F(3, 130) = 41.89, p = 0.13] or in the resulting post hoc Scheffe test.

As part of the data analysis, results for individual items were examined to identify areas of concern or strength for the wider preservice cohort. This process is explained in Chapter 3, refer to section 3.4.3. The individual mean scores for the PSTE scale are shown in Table 4.3 and the individual mean scores for the STOE scale are shown in Table 4.4.

Table 4.3

Individual Mean Scores from the STEBI-B PSTE Scale - August 2013

STEBI-B Item (PSTE Scale) Preservice

Cohort Mean Aug. 2013

Item 2 - I will continually find better ways to teach science. 4.20 Item 3 - Even if I try very hard, I will not teach science as well as I will most subjects (Reverse score).

3.71 Item 5 - I know the steps necessary to teach science concepts

effectively. 2.90

Item 6 - I will not be very effective in monitoring science experiments (Reverse score).

3.84 Item 8 - I will generally teach science ineffectively (Reverse

score). 4.06

Item 12 - I understand science concepts well enough to be

effective in teaching elementary science. 3.19

Item 17 - I will find it difficult to explain to students why science

experiments work (Reverse score). 3.51

Item 18 - I will typically be able to answer students' science questions.

3.36 Item 19 - I wonder if I will have the necessary skills to teach

science (Reverse score). 2.90

Item 20 - Given a choice, I will not invite the principal to evaluate my science teaching (Reverse score).

3.46 Item 21 - When a student has difficulty understanding a science concept, I will usually be at a loss as to how to help the student understand it better (Reverse score).

3.58

Item 22 - When teaching science, I will usually welcome student questions.

4.23 Item 23 - I do not know what to do to turn students on to science (Reverse score).

Table 4.4

Individual Mean Scores from the STEBI-B STOE Scale - August 2013

STEBI-B Item (STOE Scale) Preservice

Cohort Mean Aug. 2013

Item 1 - When a student does better than usual in science, it is often because the teacher exerted a little extra effort.

3.94 Item 4 - When the science grades of students improve, it is often due to their teacher having found a more effective teaching approach.

4.01 Item 7 - If students are underachieving in science, it is most likely due to ineffective science teaching.

3.23 Item 9 - The inadequacy of a student's science background can be overcome by good teaching.

3.90 Item 10 - The low science achievement of some students cannot

be blamed on their teachers (Reverse score). 2.74

Item 11- When a low-achieving child progresses in science, it is usually due to extra attention given by the teacher.

3.46 Item 13 - Increased effort in science teaching produces little change in some students' science achievement.

3.51 Item 14 - The teacher is generally responsible for the achievement

of students in science. 3.56

Item 15 - Students' achievement in science is directly related to their teacher's effectiveness in science teaching.

3.49 Item 16 - If parents comment that their child is showing more interest in science at school, it is probably due to the performance of the child's teacher.

3.39

Items 5 and 19 from the PSTE scale, as well as Item 10 from the STOE scale were identified as areas of concern. The low means of Items 12 and 18 from the PSTE scale and Item 7 from the STOE scale were also flagged as possible areas of concern. These items were connected to how the preservice teacher cohort rated their science content knowledge and skills or concerns about their ability to influence student achievement in science. In contrast, Items 2 and 8 from the PSTE scale and Item 4 from the STOE scale were identified as areas of strength. These items were focused on a teacher’s pedagogical skills.

As part of the process of selecting the sample for the in-depth interview participants, the STEBI-B results were used to identify preservice teachers who showed a range in comparison with the means. Along with other criteria as described in Chapter Three, section 3.2.2, 10 participants were invited and accepted to be part of the longitudinal

semi-structured interviews. A summary of the demographical information of this group is included in more detail in Table 3.3 in Chapter Three.

The mean PSTE for the in-depth interview group was 48.3, higher than the wider cohort mean of 46.35. However, the mean STOE for the group was 32.3, lower than the wider cohort mean of 34.54. Figures 4.1 and 4.2 shows the in-depth participants’ PSTE and STOE scores, respectively, in comparison to the pre-test mean of the wider preservice teacher cohort.

Figure 4.1 The PSTE scores of the in-depth interview participants compared to the wider cohort mean.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Wider Cohort Mean

Kerrie Jamie Mark John Toni Lucy Sarah Kate Alan Maria

PST

E

Sc

or

e

Figure 4.2 The STOE scores of in-depth interview participants compared to the wider cohort mean.

Of the in-depth interview participants, Lucy and Kate both had higher PSTE and STOE scores than the wider cohort preservice teacher means. Both of these preservice teachers were enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree and were specialising in science. In contrast, Kerrie who was enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years) degree and Toni, enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree, both had lower PSTE and STOE scores than the wider cohort preservice mean and the means of their degrees they were enrolled in.

Jamie and Sarah had PSTE and STOE scores similar to the wider preservice cohort mean in both scales. Both of these preservice teachers were enrolled in an undergraduate Bachelor of Education degree, with Sarah completing the primary degree and Jamie enrolled in an early childhood degree. While Sarah’s PSTE and STOE scores were similar to the mean of all students enrolled in a Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree, Jamie’s PSTE score was higher than the mean for others enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Care 0-8 years).

Maria and Alan, who were both completing postgraduate degrees, and Mark and John who were enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree, had higher than the

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Wider Cohort Mean

Kerrie Jamie Mark John Toni Lucy Sarah Kate Alan

ST O E Sc or e

mean PSTE scores and lower than the mean STOE scores in comparison with the wider preservice teacher cohort. This was more pronounced for Maria, who was enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Education and who had already completed a secondary education degree. While her PSTE score was similar to the mean of individuals enrolled in the Other category (including the Graduate Diploma), her STOE score was lower than the mean for this category, as well as the wider preservice cohort. For Mark, John and Alan, their STOE scores were also lower than the mean for males enrolled in the unit.