SCIENCE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AS BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSTRUCTIVIST-BASED EDUCATION REFORM

Abstract

A new Science and Technology program had been applied in Turkey since 2005. Constructivism has been the predominant influence on the program. Accordingly, science teachers are expected to have beliefs that are consistent with constructivism. However, the question of “what are the Turkish science teachers’ beliefs” is important because, the success of the program is dependent upon the teachers’ beliefs. This paper reports on the investigation of the science teachers’ beliefs about teaching science, learning science and managing behavior problems and any relationships among these belief systems. Data were collected through interviews with 18 science teachers. Results indicated that most of the science teachers held transitive beliefs about teaching science, and traditional beliefs about learning science and managing behavior problems. While teachers with 1-10 years experiences held a constructivist belief, this belief gave way to traditional belief as the teaching experience advanced. Beliefs of teachers were both interrelated and nested. Key words: classroom management, constructivism, learning science, teacher beliefs, teaching science.