K-6 Teachers and Classrooms Need Stronger Focus on Science
April 5, 2010
California's elementary school teachers feel much less confident in teaching science than reading or math, and there is both the need and the potential for significant improvement in elementary school teacher preparation, according to a new report by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST).
Currently, 50% of California's students score at or below basic proficiency in science, with only Mississippi having a higher percentage of students below basic proficiency. Little science is taught in the state's elementary schools: in one recent survey, 80% of K-6 teachers reported spending 60 minutes or less per week on science; and 16% indicated they spend no time at all on science.
The Preparation of Elementary School Teachers to Teach Science in California: Challenges and Opportunities Impacting Teaching and Learning Science is an eighteen-month study funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. The report examines the state's process for preparing elementary school teachers to teach science.
Unlike secondary school teachers, who hold credentials that prepare them specifically to teach science or math, K-6 teachers hold a multiple subject credential, designed to equip them to teach all subject areas, including science, in their classrooms.
To complete the new study, CCST worked with the California State University Center for Teacher Quality (CTQ), which has conducted annual surveys of first-year teachers and their Principals/supervisors since 2001. The CTQ data over eight years indicate that K-6 teachers rate themselves as substa
