How Do Prospective Elementary and Gifted Education Teachers Perceive Scientists and Distinguish Science from Pseudoscience?

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 119 - 133, 15.01.2019

Sezen Camci Erdogan

https://doi.org/10.21891/jeseh.487304

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the
perceptions towards scientists and science/pseudoscience distinctions of gifted
education and elementary education teacher candidates who will educate gifted
students especially at the elementary education level. A total of 92 volunteer
prospective teachers, composed of candidates from gifted education and
elementary education departments, participated in the study, which was carried
out as a survey research. The data were collected using the Draw-a-Scientist
Test and the Science/Pseudoscience Distinction Scale. The results of the study
showed that both groups of prospective teachers’ crafted drawings that
reflected stereotypical perceptions in terms of appearance, work carried out by
scientists, and gender. However, according to the results of the independent
samples t-test, the elementary education teacher candidates were found to
reflect more stereotypical characteristics in their drawings of scientists than
the gifted education teacher candidates. The candidates’ science/pseudoscience
distinction scores did not significantly differ in department and there was a negative significant correlation
between stereotypical image scores and scientific method scores.

Keywords

prospective teachers of gifted, science-pseudoscience distinction, images of scientists

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