The response of teachers to new subject areas in a National Science Curriculum: The case of the earth science component

The National Curriculum for Science (NCS) introduced to schools in England and Wales in 1989 contained an earth science component that was new to many secondary science teachers. Ten years after this introduction, a survey wa s undertaken to test teacher perception of the effectiveness of their teach ing in this subject area that was new to them., and to identify factors tha t might affect this effectiveness. The information gained has been used in reviewing possible curriculum changes and in developing professional develo pment strategies that would improve the effectiveness of NCS earth science teaching. The data collected from science teachers who are currently teachi ng this earth science component revealed that their background knowledge of earth science from their own education was generally poor, even though mos t of them considered their knowledge to be "moderate." The teachers indicat ed that the achievement of their pupils in earth science is "moderate." whi le reports on national testing show it is poor. They reported that their ma in sources of earth science knowledge and understanding were science textbo oks written for 11- to 16-year-old pupils (with their small earth science c ontent of variable quality) and science colleagues (who often have poor ear th science backgrounds too). Most teachers indicated that they needed more support in this area. Overall, the data indicated that while teachers consi der their teaching in this area to be "moderate," other evidence suggests i t is poor. If this situation is not to continue it should be addressed. In the longer term the emphasis on the earth science content of the National S cience Curriculum could be changed (either enhanced or reduced) within larg er scale curriculum changes. Until such curriculum change takes place, effe ctive methods of professional development should be instituted so that teac hers have a much improved basis on which to build their earth science teach ing. Similar measures would be necessary in other countries and situations in which new curriculum material is introduced through a National Curriculu m. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 85:636-664. 2001.