• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.167-178
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the perceptions of science-related careers and career education among middle school science teachers. Sixty-four science teachers experienced in teaching unit 7 in the first year of middle school participated. The results of the study revealed that not only careers in science but also careers with science were found to be quite high when teachers were asked to provide examples of science-related careers. Jobs related to research/engineering, which are careers in science, comprised the highest proportion of teachers' answers, followed by jobs related to education/law/social welfare/police/firefighting/military, and health/medical, which are careers with science. However, the proportion of jobs mentioned related to installation/maintenance/production was extremely low. The skills required for science-related careers were mainly perceived to consist of tools for working and ways of working. The number of skills classified under living in the world was perceived to be extremely low across most careers, irrespective of career type. Most teachers only taught unit 7 for two to four sessions and devoted little time to science-related career education, even in general science classes. In the free semester system, a significant number of teachers responded that they provide science-related career education for more than 8 hours. Teachers mainly utilize lecture, discussion/debate, and self-study activities. Meanwhile, in the free semester system, the resource-based learning method was utilized at a high proportion compared to other class situations. Teachers generally made much use of media materials, with the use of textbooks and teacher guides found to be lower than expected. There were also cases of using materials supported by science museums or the Ministry of Education. Teachers preferred to implementing student-centered classes and utilizing various teaching and learning methods. Based on the above research results, discussions were proposed to improve teachers' perceptions of science-related careers and career education.