Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences) ›› 2023, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 1-21.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.04.001

   

Current Situation, Influence and Suggestions of China’s Elementary School Science Teacher: Based on a Large-Scale Survey in 31 Provinces

Yonghe Zheng1, Xuanyang Yang1, Jingying Wang1, Jia Li2, Yangxu Lu3, Shuhui Li2, Yujing Yang4, Xiaolin Zhang1   

  1. 1. Research Institute of Science Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    2. Institute of Chemistry Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
    3. Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, Beijing 100038, China
    4. School of Physics and Electronic Technology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
  • Online:2023-04-01 Published:2023-03-11

Abstract:

To investigate the current situation of elementary school science teachers in China, large-scale research in 31 provinces was organized by the Professional Committee on Science Teaching of the Steering Committee for Basic Education of the Ministry of Education in the second half of 2021, and 131,134 valid questionnaires were collected. The current situation of the elementary school science teacher workforce involves three major aspects: faculty structure, professional literacy, and professional development. The study found that there is a serious structural imbalance in the structure of China’s elementary school science teachers, with part-time teachers and liberal arts backgrounds dominating; weak knowledge and beliefs, practical wisdom such as information technology application to be strengthened; weak professional development, lack of experimental resources and professional training. It is recommended to strengthen the teacher management of elementary science, improve the supervisory mechanism, and optimize the structure of the teaching force; strengthen the professional standards and development planning of integrated pre-service and in-service elementary science teachers; promote the reform of the content and form of elementary science assessment and pay attention to the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of elementary science teaching.

Key words: elementary science teacher, faculty construction, faculty structure, professional literacy, professional development