Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Beliefs About The Nature of Science Held By African Teachers in The Caribbean Diaspora

  • Chapter
Book cover Contemporary Issues in African Sciences and Science Education

Abstract

Science education research in the Anglophone Caribbean has been developing on several fronts at a steady space over the past forty years. These include research in such areas as: the role and purposes of science education, culture and cognitive development, science curriculum development, science teacher education, the impact of science on social issues and concerns, scientific literacy and the relationships between Caribbean beliefs and conventional science i (Sweeney, 2003). No research over this period, however, has focused on teachers’ views of the nature of science or has explored cross-cultural studies of teacher beliefs comparing Caribbean teachers’ belief about the nature of science to those of teachers in other regions of the world such as Africa, Asia or Australia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Abd-El-Kalick F, Akerson VL (2004) Learning about the nature of science as conceptual change: Factors that mediate the development of preservice elementary teachers' views of the nature of science. Science Education 88:785–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead GS (1996) Science education: Border crossing into the subculture of science. Social Studies in Science 27:1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Aikenhead G, Huntley B (1999) Teachers views of aboriginal students learning western and aboriginal science. Canadian Journal of Native Education 23(2):159–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander G, Glasgow J (1981) UNICEF regional primary school project: Report on teacher training and curriculum development activities, 1978–1980. Caribbean Journal of Education 8(1):75–101

    Google Scholar 

  • AAAS (1993) Benchmarks for scientific literacy. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Atwater M, Crokett D (2003) Prospective teachers' education worldview and teacher education programmes: Through the eyes of culture, ethnicity and class. In: Hines SM (ed) Multicultural science education: Theory, practice and promise. Peter Lang, New York, pp 55–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnhardt C (2001) A history of schooling for Alaska native people. Journal of American Indian Education 40(1):1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrow, D. A. (1993). Restructuring college level physics for prospective elementary school teachers: A socio-cultural analysis of the roles the instructor plays. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Florida State University, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell RL, Lederman NG (2003) Understanding of the Nature of Science and Decision Making on Science and Technology-based Issues. Science Education 87:352–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry J, Pooowassie D, Berry D (1999) Improving Learning Outcomes in the Caribbean: Challenges and Lessons, Curriculum Reform. Discussant's paper prepared for the World Bank / EDI Workshop, Trinidad and Tobago, April 21–23:1999

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullough, R. v., Jr. (1991). Exploring personal teaching metaphors in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 42, 43 - 51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brathwaite, W. E. (1978). In-service strategies for for improving teacher abilities in science education. In the Proceedings of the Regional Primary Science Conference, (pp. 156-160). University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados: Caribbean Regional Science Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brereton B (1981) A History of Modern Trinidad 1783-1962. Heinemann International, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • British Royal Society of Science on NOS. (1985). 9th Report, Practical and Social Implications of Science. (BRSS, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cain, M., Edwards-Henry, & Rampersad, J. (2005). Developing Portfolios for Teaching, Learning and Assessment. School of Education, UWI: Multimedia Production Center

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron L (2002) Metaphors in the Learning of Science: A discourse focus. British Education Research Journal 28(5):673–688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobern WW (1996) Worldview theory and conceptual change in science education. Science Education 80:579–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W. (2nd Ed.). (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications

    Google Scholar 

  • Driver R, Leach J, Millar R, Scott P (1996) Young people's images of science. Open University Press, Buckingham, England

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott F (2009) Science, Metaphoric Meaning and Indigenous Knowledge. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research 35(3):284–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Feyerabend PK (1997) Against Method: Outline of an anarchistic theory of knowledge, 3rd edn. Verso, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser-Abder P (1985) The Status and implications of the cognitive development levels of elementary students in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Education in Science for Trinidad and Tobago 12:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser-Abder P (1988) Summary of science education research in the Caribbean, 1970-1987. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the national Association for Research in Science Teaching, Lake Ozarks, MO, April 10–13:1988

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher JJ (1991) Prospective and practicing secondary school science teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the philosophy of science. Science Education 75:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George J (1999) Indigenous knowledge as a component of the school curriculum. In: Semali LM, Kincheloe JL (eds) What is Indigenous knowledge? Voices from the academy. Falmer Press, New York, pp 79–94

    Google Scholar 

  • George, J. (2001). Culture and Science Education: a look from the developing world. Accessed online at:http://www.actionbioscience.org/education/george.html

  • George, J. & Glassgow, J. (1999). The boundaries between Caribbean beliefs and practices and conventional science:Implications for science education in the Caribbean. Monograph series No. 10 (Series Editor: Lynda Quamina-Aiyejina), Education for All (EFA) in the Caribbean: Assessment (2000) Kingston. UNESCO, Jamaica

    Google Scholar 

  • Glasgow, J. (1986). Factors affecting scientific literacy in Jamaican grade nine students. In Pamela Fraser-Abder's (Ed.), Science education research in Latin America and the Caribbean (conference proceedings), pp. 234-252. St. Augustine, Trinidad: Faculty of Education, University of the West Indies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurney BF (1995) Tugboats and tennis games: Preservice conceptions of teaching and learning revealed through metaphors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32:569–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haraway D (1996) Situated knowledge: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. In: Keller EF, Longino HE (eds) Feminism and science. Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp 249–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbert SM (2008) Collateral learning in science: Students responses to a cross-cultural unit of work. International Journal of Science Education 3(7):979–993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert S (2009) Secondary Science Teachers Metaphors: A Case Study. Caribbean Curriculum 16(2):1–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewson PW, Hewson MG (1989) Analysis and Use of a Task for Identifying Conceptions of Teaching Science. Journal of Education for Science Teaching 15(3):191–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irez, S. (2008). Nature of Science as Depicted in Turkish Biology Textbooks. Science Education, 423-447.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irez S, Cakir M (2006) Critical Reflective Approach to Teach the Nature of Science: A Rationale and Review of Strategies. Journal of Turkish Science Education 3(2):7–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Luke LB (2007) Identity and Secession in the Caribbean Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889-1980. University of the West Indies Press, Trinidad and Tobago

    Google Scholar 

  • James, C. (2006). Metaphors of teaching: my language classroom is an orchestra. 2006-2-BL-EDUC— L500-15299. University of the West Indies, SOE: St. Augustine

    Google Scholar 

  • Jegede O (1995) Collateral learning and the eco-cultural paradigm in science and mathematics education in Africa. Studies in Science Education 25:97–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson CC (2007) Effective science teaching, professional development and No Child Left Behind: Barriers, dilemmas and reality. Journal of Science Teacher Education 18:133–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, W. K. (1978). The interpretation of Piagetian developmental psychology in terms of primary science: The need for research. In the Proceedings of the Regional Primary Science Conference, pp. 84^94. University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados: Caribbean Regional Science Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • King WK (1987) Social and cultural responsibilities of science in the school curriculum: Objectives and teaching methods. Caribbean Curriculum 2(1):16–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Koppi, A. J., Chaloupka, M. J., Llewellyn, R., Cheney, G., Clark, S., and Fenton-Kerr, T. (1998). Academic Culture, Flexibility and the National Teaching and Learning Database. ASCILITE98 Conference Proceedings. World Wide Webb.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn TS (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edn. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff G, Johnson M (1975) Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert EN (1974) New directions in science education in the 70s. Journal of Education in Science for Trinidad and Tobago 2:26–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Lederman NG, Zeidler DL (1987) Science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science: Do they really influence teaching behavior? Science Education 7(5):721–734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lederman NG (1992) Students' and Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science: A review of the research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 29:331–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lochan S, Barrow DA (2008) The Extra-lessons: A comparison between different sides of the track in Trinidad and Tobago. Caribbean Curriculum 15:45–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Loving CC, de Montellano BRO (2003) Good versus bad culturally relevant science: Avoiding the pitfalls. In: Hines SM (ed) Multicultural science education: Theory, practice and promise. Peter Lang, New York, pp 147–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Mark P (1978) Science education and development in the Caribbean: Desired directions. West Indian Science and Technology 3:11–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Mccomas, W. F. (1998). 15 Myths the Science Teachers have about Nature of Science. In W.F. Mccomas (Ed.), The Nature of Science In Science Education: Rationales and Strategies. Dordrecht:Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mccomas WF, Clough MP, Almozroa H (1998) The Role and Character of the Nature of Science in Science Education. In: Mccomas WF (ed) The Nature of Science in Science Education: Rationales and Strategies. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinley, E. (2007). Postcolonialism, Indigenous Students and Science Education. In Sandra Bell and norman Lederman (Ed.), Handbook of Research of Science Education (pp. 199-226). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meichtry YJ (1999) The nature of science and scientific knowledge: Implications for a preservice elementary methods course. Science & Education 8:273–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne J, Collin S, Ratchcliff M, Millar R, Dushl R (2003) What 'ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science. A Delphi study of the expert community Journal of Research in Science Teaching 40(7):697–720

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy D (1993) Implications of Teachers' Beliefs about the Nature of Science: Comparison of the Beliefs of Scientists, Secondary Science Teachers, and Elementary Teachers. Science Education 77(3):261–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichenbach H (1938) Experience and Prediction. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, J.J. (1964). Problems, Topics and Issues. In Education and the Structure of Knowledge. Fifth Annual Phi Delta Kappa Symposium on Education Research. Chicago: Rand NcNally & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz RS, Lederman NG (2002) It's the nature of the beast: The influence of knowledge and intensions on learning and teaching the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39:205–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern L, Roseman J (2004) Can middle school science textbooks help students learn important ideas? Findings from Project 2061's curriculum evaluation study: Life science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 41(6):538–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney AE (2003) An overview of science education in the Caribbean: Research, policy and practice. Science Education International 14(2):43–55

    Google Scholar 

  • UWI, St. Augustine. (2009). Postgraduate Diploma in Education 2009-2010. School of Education, UWI: Multimedia Production Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobin K, Tippins D (1996) Metaphors as Seeds for Conceptual Change and the Improvement of Science Teaching. Science Teacher Education 80(6):711–730

    Google Scholar 

  • Trinidad and Tobago. National Task Force on Education. (1994). Education policy paper (1993-2003) (White Paper). Port of Spain, Trinidad: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trinidad and Tobago, MOE. (2003). Secondary Education Modernization Project (SEMP) draft secondary school curriculum: science. Port of Spain: Author.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Dorian A. Barrow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

    Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw

  2. University of Toronto, Canada

    George J. Sefa Dei

  3. University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

    Kolawole Raheem

  4. University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

    Jophus Anamuah-Mensah

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Barrow, D.A. (2012). Beliefs About The Nature of Science Held By African Teachers in The Caribbean Diaspora. In: Asabere-Ameyaw, A., Dei, G.J.S., Raheem, K., Anamuah-Mensah, J. (eds) Contemporary Issues in African Sciences and Science Education. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-702-8_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation