Abstract
There is a prevalent consensus among science education scholars that teaching socioscientific issues (SSI) has notable importance for promoting functional scientific literacy and raising responsible citizens. However, teachers encounter numerous problems when teaching SSI, so they may not prefer to teach them. Today, we still do not know many specific particulars about how teachers’ own opinions, beliefs, or experiences influence the way in which they present controversies and which teacher’s role is best suited for teaching SSI. This paper aims to review the empirical studies that include teachers’ stances during teaching SSI and, if stated, their rationales about preferred stances. We employed the Web of Science and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases and Google Scholar to find the relevant literature. Then, we independently screened the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the selected studies for eligibility. Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement checklist, eighteen empirical studies were included in this review. Three main profiles of teachers’ positions while addressing SSI were identified: excluders, neutrals, and disclosers. Two subprofiles were identified for both neutrals and disclosers. Neutral teaching was found to be the most adopted and preferred teacher position for introducing SSI. It was followed by the avoidance of SSI teaching because the teachers viewed value-free education as important. Teachers’ own opinions, beliefs, epistemological orientations, concerns of indoctrination, and external factors were reported as the main underlying reasons for their preferred positions. Obviously, the studies conducted with in-service teachers yielded different reasoning patterns for their neutrality. We concluded that, given the pedagogical and epistemological challenges of teaching SSI, more research on teachers’ positions in addressing SSI in science classrooms is needed.
Résumé
Les universitaires du domaine de l’enseignement des sciences s’accordent de plus en plus à dire que l’enseignement des enjeux socioscientifiques (ESS) revêt une importance considérable pour la promotion d’une littératie scientifique fonctionnelle et la formation de citoyens responsables. Toutefois, les enseignants se heurtent à de nombreux problèmes lorsqu’ils enseignent les ESS, ce qui fait qu’ils peuvent préférer s’abstenir de les enseigner. Nous n’en savons toujours pas beaucoup encore aujourd’hui en ce qui concerne l’influence qu’exercent les opinions, les croyances ou les expériences des enseignants sur la manière dont ceux-ci présentent les controverses et au sujet du rôle le mieux adapté à l’enseignement des ESS. Dans cet article, notre objectif est de passer en revue les études empiriques qui traitent des attitudes des enseignants lorsqu’ils abordent les ESS en classe et, lorsque cela est énoncé, de découvrir les raisons pour lesquelles ils adoptent ces attitudes. Nous avons utilisé les bases de données de « Web of Science» et du fichier du Centre d’information de ressources pédagogiques (ERIC) ainsi que « Google Scholar» pour trouver la documentation pertinente. Nous avons ensuite vérifié de manière indépendante l’admissibilité des titres, des résumés et des textes complets des études choisies. Sur la base de la liste de contrôle de la déclaration PRISMA (« Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses»), on a sélectionné dix-huit études empiriques pour cette analyse. On a identifié trois profils principaux d’attitudes enseignantes en ce qui a trait aux ESS: les excluants, les neutres et les divulgateurs. En ce qui concerne les deux derniers profils, on a distingué deux sous-profils. L’enseignement neutre s’est avéré être l’attitude la plus adoptée et celle privilégiée par les enseignants pour initier les élèves aux ESS. Suit ensuite l’évitement de l’enseignement des ESS, car les enseignants considèrent qu’il est important d’offrir une éducation qui est dénuée de valeurs. Les opinions, les croyances, les orientations épistémologiques, les préoccupations en matière d’endoctrinement et les facteurs externes ont été signalés par les enseignants comme étant les principales raisons sous-jacentes de leurs attitudes favorites. De toute évidence, les études menées auprès d’enseignants en exercice ont donné lieu à des modèles de raisonnement différents pour expliquer leur neutralité. Nous avons conclu qu’en raison des défis pédagogiques et épistémologiques associés à l’enseignement des ESS, il est nécessaire de mener davantage de recherches sur les attitudes des enseignants à l’égard des ESS dans les classes de sciences.
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Ozcan-Ermis, G., Hervé, N. Identifying Pre- and In-service Teachers’ Stances on Teaching Socioscientific Issues: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies. Can. J. Sci. Math. Techn. Educ. 23, 741–764 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-023-00306-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-023-00306-w