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Science Teacher Education No 63 ● February 2012

News from ATSE ● Science Teacher Education ● No 63 ● February 2012

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Introduction

Chilean school students’ performances on international standardised tests such as PISA or TIMMS are higher

than other American countries (see Table 1). However, students’ achievements are very low when compared in

a fully international context (e.g. OECD, 2010).

The results for PISA 2006 showed that Chilean students reached mainly levels 1 and 2 on a scale of science

proficiency of 6 levels. Levels 1 and 2 represent students having adequate scientific knowledge to provide

possible explanations of phenomena in familiar contexts, and being capable only of direct reasoning and making

literal interpretations of the results of scientific inquiries or technological problem-solving (Guber & Williamson,

2009).

There is evidence that the most important factor in students’ learning is the teacher (Abell, 2007, Gonzalez et al,

2009). Therefore, improving the training of teachers has been a constant concern in most countries that seek to

increase their students’ scientific literacy levels (Borghi et al, 2000; Kahle & Kronebusch, 2003).

In this context, the following article aims to discuss some of the features of science education in Chile, focusing on

three main questions: What are the main shortcomings of science education? What are the core competencies that

science teachers need to promote effective learning and scientific literacy in their students? What are the current

characteristics of primary and secondary science teacher education in Chile?

International ● Science Teacher Education ● No 63 ● February 2012

Table 1. Summary of PISA 2009 science performance of Chile and other American countries

(modified from OECD, 2010)

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International ● Science Teacher Education ● No 63 ● February 2012

What are the main shortcomings of science education in Chile?

There is little information about science teaching instruction in Chile. However, there is some agreement that many

science classes in Chile are conducted in a very traditional way (Cofré et al, 2010). The work done by Vergara

(2006) about the conceptions of science teaching and learning and teaching practice of three biology teachers is

one of the few studies that have been carried out on this subject. Based on semi-structured interviews and video

records of classes, Vergara showed that teachers own a mixture of traditional and contemporary visions of science

teaching and learning, where traditional views are dominant. Teachers’ views of practical work are especially

traditional, leaving little place for interaction with the students. These findings showed that there are different

types of teachers. One type teaches traditional lessons; another, with a more contemporary view, still teaches using

some traditional methods; and the last type of teacher teaches in a less traditional style that agrees with a more

contemporary conception of science teaching and learning.

Recent studies show that primary teachers do not use practical work in effective ways (Cofré et al, 2009), and that

secondary science teachers share traditional views on the nature of science and science teaching (Contreras, 2006;

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Ravanal & Quintanilla, 2010; Vergara & Cofré, 2010) and believe that scientific inquiry should not normally be

used to teach science (Gonzalez et al, 2009). Finally, data suggest that these science teachers lack knowledge of

the subject matter. For example, the percentages of students with teachers that reported feeling ‘very well

prepared’ to teach different science subjects in Chile (see Table 2) is lower than the international mean (OECD,

2007).

Table 2. Percentage of teachers that feel well prepared to teach science at eighth grade (modified

from OECD, 2007)

Subject Chile (%) International Mean (%)

Biology 47 - 56 49 -63

Chemistry 30 - 48 56 - 67

Physics 17 - 42 52 - 59

Earth Sciences 22 - 39 33 - 46

What are the core competencies that science teachers need to promote effective learning and

scientific literacy in their students?

Competency-based teacher education is a new paradigm in the Chilean education system. There is the idea that its

implementation will lead to the longed-for quality and equity in education. In this context, it is no surprise that

teacher education and especially science teacher education has become the centre of attention. With the aim of

exploring the opinion of in-service teachers about the most important skills and knowledge for teaching science

successfully, we surveyed a sample of science schoolteachers, managers and science teacher educators (Galaz et

al, 2010).

A summary of the findings from interviews shows that science teachers and managers think that the most

relevant knowledge and skills that science teachers should have are the following:

❍ Knowledge and implementation of effective science teaching;

❍ Knowledge of subject matter;

❍ Management of the curriculum and different assessment methodologies;

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❍ Setting a class environment of confidence and respect;

❍ Ability to reflect on their practice; and

❍ Continuous updating and command in the use of new technologies.

Interestingly, both managers and schoolteachers agree that the most important skills are those related to classroom

management, discipline, teaching the curriculum and assessment, while those related to general education,

professional development or generic skills are considered less important. Moreover, a questionnaire applied to 45

schoolteachers and science teacher educators confirms the importance of competences or skills related to science

teaching and assessment. As well as setting a positive classroom atmosphere, the abilities of promoting scientific

inquiry, promoting critical thinking, using evaluation as a means of learning feedback, and creating a warm climate

in the classroom were among the five major areas of teaching studied.

Schoolteachers’ and science teacher educators’ views agree on many necessary qualities for effective practices that

can, in turn, generate scientific literacy in their students. However, it is a matter of concern that some skills, widely

described as relevant to science education in international literature, were not recognised by participants. For

instance, effective command of information and communication technologies and an understanding of the history

and nature of science were rated as lower priorities. The data suggest that science schoolteachers and science

teacher educators overlook the role of carrying out educational research as a main competence for teaching

science.

Science teacher education: What are the characteristics of current

science teacher training in Chile?

According to our investigation (Cofré et al, 2010; Cofré & Vergara, 2010), science teacher education in Chile, for

primary and secondary schools, is characterised by a strong component of subject matter training and, to a lesser

extent, by training in education or general pedagogical issues (see Figure 1).

On the one hand, there is no specialised primary school science teacher education, as science subjects represent a

small portion of the school curriculum (Vergara & Cofré, 2008). On the other hand, secondary school science

teacher training is characterised by a strong component of the subject matter, while other important areas, such as

practical training, research (both in a science discipline and in science education) and the nature of science are

overlooked.

Furthermore, science teacher education, in most of the 40 science teacher training programmes in Chile, is not

research-based, which is considered a key component in nations with a high level of school students’ achievement,

such as Finland, South Korea or Japan. Another difference from developed countries is the high proportion of the

curriculum devoted to theoretical issues of education, which is fairly small in developed countries: a limited

development of subjects related to science didactics or science instruction; scarce command of technological tools;

and the limited role of practicum (school practice), a central element in developed countries. All of these

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mismatches with developed countries with high scores in international assessments such as PISA and TIMMS

should be taken into account by Chilean universities, in order to improve the quality of pre-service science teacher

education.

Figure 1. Representation of different training topics in 27 science teacher education programmes

in Chile

Conclusions The new topic of ‘scientific thinking abilities’ in the current national science curriculum in Chile now includes

aspects of the nature of science and scientific inquiry, as well as content knowledge. However, evidence suggests

that in-service and pre-service teachers do not have an informed concept of these areas of science. This is an

important example of the inconsistency of science teacher training with curriculum policy in Chile.

According to our research, science teacher education lacks:

❍ enough practicum;

❍ enough instructional science (didactics) training;

❍ enough ICT training; and

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❍ enough time for encouraging inquiry.

The improvement of undergraduate programmes in science teacher education should be linked to further

development of science teaching education at graduate level, and more research on the issues of science education

that are most relevant to Chile.

References Abell, S.K. (2007) ‘Research on Science Teacher Knowledge’. In Handbook of research on science education,

S.K. Abell & N.G. Lederman. Routledge

Borghi, L.A., de Ambrosis, A. & Mascheretti, P. (2000) ‘Reform in Science Teacher Education in Italy: The case

of physics’. In Science Teacher Education: an international perspective, Abell, S.K. Kluwer Academic

Publishers

Cofré, H. (2010) ‘Cómo mejorar la enseñanza de las ciencias en Chile’. Ediciones UCSH. Stgo, Chile

Cofré, H. & Vergara, C. (2010) ‘La formación de profesores de ciencia en Chile: desarrollo, estado actual y futuros

desafíos. Capítulo 10’. En Como mejorar la enseñanza de las

ciencias en Chile(Ed. H. Cofré). Ediciones UCSH

Cofré, H., Camacho, J., Galaz, A., Jiménez, J., Santibáñez, D. & Vergara, C. (2010) ‘La educación Científica en

Chile: debilidades de la enseñanza y futuros desafíos de la educación de profesores de ciencia’, Estudios

Pedagógicos,26, 279–293

Contreras, S. (2006) ‘¿Qué factores pueden influir en el trabajo de los profesores de ciencias chilenos?’, Revista

Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias, 5, 378–392

Galaz, J.A., Santibáñez, D., Camacho J.P., Jiménez, J., Vergara C. & Cofré, H. (2010) ‘Competencias para una

enseñanza efectiva de las ciencias: ¿Qué opinan los profesores y los formadores de profesores? Capítulo 9’. En

Cómo mejorar la enseñanza de las

ciencias en Chile (Ed. H. Cofré). Ediciones UCSH

González, C., Martínez, M.T. & Martínez, C. (2009) ‘La Educación Científica como apoyo a la movilidad social:

desafíos en torno al rol del profesor secundario en la implementación de la indagación científica como enfoque

pedagógico’, Estudios Pedagógicos, 25, 63–78

Guber, J. & Williamson, A. (2009) ‘Resultados de los estudiantes chilenos en la prueba PISA Ciencias 2006: una

Mirada a sus competencias’. En ¿Qué nos dice PISA sobre la educación de los jóvenes en Chile?Unidad de

Curriculum y Evaluación, MINEDUC

Kahle, B.J. & Kronebusch, J. (2003) ‘Science Teacher Education: From a fractured system to a seamless

continuum’, Review of Policy Research, 20, 585–602

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OECD (2010) PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do – Student Performance in

Reading, Mathematics and Science (Volume I) at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091450-en

Ravanal, E. & Quintanilla, M. (2010) ‘Caracterización de las concepciones epistemológicas del profesorado de

Biología en ejercicio sobre la naturaleza de la ciencia’, Revista Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias, 9,

111–124

Vergara, C. (2006) Concepciones sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje en profesores de biología: Coherencia

entre el discurso y la práctica de aula. Doctoral Thesis. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Vergara, C. & Cofré, H. (2008) ‘La enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales en la Educación Básica chilena: un camino

por recorrer’, Revista Foro Educacional,14, 85–104

Vergara, C. & Cofré, H. (2010) ‘Debilidades en la enseñanza de las ciencias en Chile: el caso de las

concepciones y prácticas de tres profesores de Biología. Capítulo 8’. En Como mejorar la enseñanza de las

ciencias en Chile(Ed. H. Cofré). Ediciones UCSH

Dr. Hernan Cofré, Visiting Research Scholar, Mathematics & Science Education

Department, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3424 S. State Street - South Bldg, Room

4B2-1, Chicago, IL 60616. E-mail: hmardone@iit.edu

Claudia Vergara, Universidad Alberto Hurtado & Grupo de Estudios Avanzados en Enseñanza de las Ciencias

Javier Jiménez and David Santibáñez, Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez, Escuela de

Educación Inicial & Grupo de Estudios Avanzados en Enseñanza de las Ciencias

Johanna Camacho, Área de Didáctica de las Ciencias Departamento de Estudios PedagógicosFacultad

de Filosofía y Humanidades, Universidad de Chile. E-mail: jpcamacho@uchile.cl

Alberto Galaz, Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Casilla

576 , Campus Isla Teja S/N, Valdivia - Chile

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