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Researching primary teachers' professional agency: employing interactive ethnography to overcome reluctance to teach science
Martin, Jenny
Martin, Jenny
Author
Abstract
This paper provides a report of a case study on the professional agency of an experienced early years teacher, Sarah, who successfully embedded a chemical science program of teaching-learning for her students aged between 6 and 8. Interactive ethnography informs the research design, and discursive psychology provides the tools for the analysis of Sarah’s speech acts for her positioning as a responsible agent. Reframing the problem of primary teacher reluctance to teach science in terms of primary teachers’ professional agency using discursive psychology, this ontological study provides new insight into issues related to the provision of science education in primary schools and asks: How do primary teachers position themselves and others in relation to science curriculum and education? The research calls for research methodologies and reform efforts in primary science that are better grounded in the local moral orders of primary schools.
Keywords
teacher agency, science education, discursive psychology, interactive ethnography
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
Research in Science Education
Book
Volume
49
Issue
5
Page Range
1279-1299
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
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Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled