Developing teachers as leaders of science in primary schools

Julia Mackintosh, Elizabeth White, and Claire Dickerson, 'Developing teachers as leaders of science in primary schools', in Proceedings from the PSTT International Primary Science Conference, Belfast, June 2017, The Journal of Emergent Science, Issue 12, Winter 2016/2017, Special Edition. Published by Association for Science Education in partnership with the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT).Children’s experiences of science at primary school inform their decisions about studying science post-16, which impacts on the supply of STEM professionals. In England, the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) award programme is a recognised way of addressing the reported decline in the profile given to science as numeracy and literacy have been prioritised. This programme aims to raise the profile of primary science by providing schools with a framework and professional support for developing science leadership, teaching and learning. This paper reports the views of twelve primary science leaders from schools involved in the PSQM scheme for the first time and explores changes in their attitudes to teaching and leading science. Data were collected through questionnaires, an interview and focus group and from documents submitted for the award. The findings suggest how the science leaders’ perspectives shifted from science learning and practice in isolated classrooms to a whole-school vision