Enhancing Initial Teacher Training to Teach Science in Secondary Schools

Science teaching quality, a shortage of specialists and retention of science teachers have been longstanding concerns for governments internationally. To address these issues, many countries have diversified routes into teaching to enable high quality candidates from diverse science backgrounds enter the teaching profession. In England, the government has opened the ITT market by extending school-based training routes allowing more career changers to enter teaching. However, the experiences of career changers in IT programmes, their readiness to teach, and how they develop knowledge and skills are underexplored. Furthermore, syntheses of international research literature on the effectiveness of different approaches to preparing science teachers are lacking. The relationship between teachers’ voices and approaches to their preparation is fundamental in developing coherent ITT models that better align theory with practice. This study identifies how best ITT programmes can prepare trainees to teach science in secondary schools by gathering data through two different methodologies: through a synthesis of the available international evidence on effective approaches to preparing science teachers, and through a qualitative case study that explores the views and learning experiences of trainee science teachers enrolled on a teacher training programme in England. A framework based on Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) developed during the study and a thematic approach are used to analyse and synthesis data generated through the two methodologies. Findings reveal evidence of effective strategies for preparing science teachers and show how trainees develop themselves professionally by drawing on five pillars of teaching within contextual factors that influence their learning. Collectively, the findings assemble into a novel ITT model which, alongside a set of evidence-based practices identified in the study, can guide the design of learning opportunities for trainee teachers. The model supports policies aiming at narrowing the theory practice gap to increase trainees’ access to quality training