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Cultural Studies of Science Education

, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp 803–815 | Cite as

The inseparable role of emotions in the teaching and learning of primary school science

  • Christina Siry
  • Michelle Brendel
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to explore the inseparable role of emotions in the teaching and the learning of science at the primary school level, as we elaborate the theoretical underpinnings and personal experiences that lead us to this notion of inseparability. We situate our perspectives on the complexity of science education in primary schools, draw on existing literature on emotions in science, and present arguments for the necessity of working towards positive emotions in our work with young children and their teachers. We layer our own perspectives and experiences as teachers and as researchers onto methodological arguments through narratives to emerge with a reflective essay that seeks to highlight the importance of emotions in our work with children and their teachers in elementary school science.

Keywords

Dialogue Embodied science Doing science Elementary science 

Resume

Dans cet article, nous allons explorer le rôle inséparable des émotions dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des sciences à l’école primaire. A cette fin, nous élaborons les fondements théoriques ainsi que les expériences personnelles qui nous mènent à cette notion d’inséparabilité. Nous situons notre vue de la complexité de l’enseignement des sciences dans les classes de l’école primaire, en nous référant à la littérature existante sur les émotions en sciences et présentons des arguments qui mettent en évidence la nécessité de favoriser les émotions positives dans notre travail avec de jeunes enfants et leurs enseignants. A travers une approche narrative, nous confrontons nos propres perspectives et expériences comme enseignantes et chercheures à des arguments méthodologiques afin de faire émerger un essai réflexif qui cherche à mettre en évidence l’importance des émotions dans notre travail avec les enfants et leurs enseignants dans l’enseignement des sciences à l’école primaire.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of LuxembourgEsch-sur-AlzetteLuxembourg

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