Conclusiones

A Likert Scale was used to indicate respondents’ perceptions of their pre-service preparation and a score was computed. A score of 1 indicates a perception of having been well-prepared whereas a score of 5 indicates a perception of not having been prepared at all. The score for satisfaction with pre -service preparation was

calculated from information generated by Q.24 of the NNA questionnaire (Appendix V). The scores for each of the items in Q.24 were combined and an average overall score was calculated. The individual items included the four strands of the Primary Science Curriculum: Living things; Materials; Energy and Forces and Environmental Awareness as well as two ‘Process’ elements of the primary science curriculum; Working scientifically and Designing and Making. Regarding satisfaction with their preparation in Colleges of Education the mean score obtained was 3.5. This would indicate that teachers perceive the preparation received to teach science at the Colleges of Education as inadequate. The histogram (Figure 5.3) of the distribution of these scores indicates that the values are skewed to the right, indicating a negative perception of pre-service provision for science education.

Figure 5.3 Respondents’ Perception of Their Preparation in Colleges of Education to Teach Science at Primary Level

6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Frequency 60 40 20 0 Mean =3.46 Std. Dev. =1.086 N =434

Code: 1=Well prepared; 2=Prepared; 3=A little preparation; 4=Not well prepared;

134 The scores for perception of Colleges of Education preparation to teach Science were categorised according to the criteria laid out in Table 5.13 below.

Score Interpretation

Less than or equal to 2 Prepared

Greater than 2 and less than 3.5 Some preparation Greater than or equal to 3.5 Poor to no preparation

Table 5.13 Collapsed College of Education Scores

Using these interpretations, the percentage of respondents in each category was computed. Total Respondents N=467 Perception of Preparation at Colleges of Education Frequency % of Total Population (N=434) n % Well prepared 53 12 Some preparation 259 60 Poor to no preparation 122 28 Total 434 100

Table 5.14 Respondents’ Perceptions of Their Preparation in Colleges of Education to Teach Primary Science

It is necessary to cross-tabulate these perceptions with the age of respondents in order to determine if there has been any change in this perception over the last two decades. Age of Respondents All Respondents N=433 Well Prepared Some Preparation Poor to No Preparation N % N % n % n % 20-30 years 87 20 32 37 50 57 5 6 31-40 years 69 16 8 12 40 58 21 30 41-50 years 136 31 6 4 84 62 46 34 51+ years 141 33 7 5 85 60 49 35

Table 5.15 Cross-tabulation of Perception of Pre-service Preparation to Teach Science with Age of Respondents.

135 The data indicates that the youngest respondents were more likely to be satisfied with their preparation to teach science than those respondents in the older age categories. This correlation between age and perception of preparation was found to be significant.

The chi-square test for independence was carried out. It indicated a significant association between age and Perception of College of Education provision for Science, chi-square (1, n=453) =75.463; df =6, p= 0.000, phi=0.000.

Table 5.16 Chi-square Results for Cross-tabulation of Age and Perception of Colleges of Education Provision for Science

Since only 37% of the youngest age categories express a sense of having been well prepared to teach science there is a need to explore further the current provision for science in the Colleges of Education. As discussed in Chapter 2, Section 2.3 and summarised in Tables 2.1 and 2.2, provision for science in the Colleges of Education has not been standardised and therefore the college attended will greatly determine a teacher’s preparation to teach science.

In order to determine if the gender of the respondents affected their perception of the provision of science in the Colleges of Education it was decided to see if any

relationship between the two was evident. Of the 147 males who participated in the survey, only 11 of them perceived themselves to have been prepared to teach primary science. This represents only about 7% of the male respondents. Of the 287 females who participated, 42 or 15% of them perceived their training to be adequate. The Pearson chi-square test was conducted but no significant association was found to exist between the gender of respondents and their perceptions of their preparation to teach science at the Colleges of Education.

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Table 5.17 Cross tabulation of Respondents’ Perception of College of Education Preparation to Teach Science with Gender

It is possible to conclude that dissatisfaction with Colleges of Education preparation to teach science was common to both genders. Only 12% of the entire population expressed the view that they felt well prepared to teach science in the Colleges of Education. Those who left college within the last 10 years are more likely to have had a positive perception of their preparation to teach science.

Statistics from the DES for 2005 showed that the average age of teachers was between 41 and 47, and 65% of the NNA respondents were 40 years or over. Within these age categories 95-96% felt they either had not been well prepared to teach science or were not prepared at all. The percentage for the age group 31-40 years who did not feel well-prepared to teach science is even higher at 98%. Even amongst the most recent graduates 63% felt they had not been well-prepared. This is worrying in light of the fact that some of these respondents would have attended college while the 1999 curriculum was already in place. In order to determine when the youngest respondents had attended college, I cross-tabulated the number of years they had been teaching with their ages in Table 5.18.

Gender of Respondents All Respondents N=434 Well Prepared to Teach Science at College of Education Some Preparation Poor to No Preparation N % N % n % n % Male 147 34 11 7 95 65 41 28 Female 287 66 42 15 164 57 81 28

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Table 5.18 Years of Experience of the Youngest Respondents

From Table 5.18 it can be seen that half of the respondents within the 20-30 year age group had been in college within the 5 years prior to this survey (pre 2007). The Science curriculum was already being implemented for nearly 5 years when this survey was conducted. The other half of respondents had been in college within10 years of this survey and therefore would have been educated to teach the current curriculum (DES, 1999) compared to the older respondents.

What changes have the colleges made to their provision for science in the light of the demands of the 1999 Curriculum? Varley et al (2008(a), p.24) provide a summary of what the colleges aspire to in relation to science education.

The content of the science curriculum courses in all the colleges is similar in that in general they aim at providing students with the

opportunity to use and learn about using a range of methodologies in the teaching of primary science...Aspects of the courses are also aimed at developing the students' personal conceptual and procedural knowledge in science.

(Varley et al., 2008, p.24 emphases added)

This indicates that the developing “personal conceptual knowledge” appears to receive less attention than exposing students to “a range of methodologies”. Since so many respondents expressed dissatisfaction with pre-service training, I sought to ascertain the degree of agency on the part of respondents in addressing this deficit in preparation. I also attempted to determine teachers’ satisfaction or otherwise with this CPD. Section 5.4.3 now considers levels of CPD participation among

respondents.

Age of Youngest Respondents

All Respondents Total Experience

N=463 0-5 years 6-10 years

N % n % N %

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