ATTITUDES OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS TOWARDS EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND THEIR SCIENCE TEACHING EFFICACY BELIEFS IN TURKEY

Abstract

One of the most necessary teaching competencies for science teachers concerns their self-efficacy belief. It is also necessary for teachers to benefit from educational research in order to develop their science teaching efficacy beliefs. However, studies are restricted. This study aims to analyze the attitudes of pre-service science teachers towards educational research and their science teaching efficacy beliefs, and the relationship between the two variables according to some demographical (academic achievement, gender, and the type of high school they attended). The study was conducted according to the survey research design. Sample of the study includes 517 pre-service science teachers (final year students) at five different universities in Turkey. ‘Teachers Attitude Scale towards Educational Research [TASTER]’ and ‘Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument [STEBI]’ were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0. Analysis of the data has revealed that there is a relationship between the attitudes of the pre-service science teachers towards educational research and their science teaching efficacy belief. Key words: attitude, educational research, self-efficacy, pre-service science teacher.