• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.713-723
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• 2008

Science teaching-anxiety and science teaching-efficacy are influential factors in teachers' teaching practices and behaviors. In order to encourage elementary teachers to do better teaching practice, this study identified factors that have caused teachers' science teaching-anxiety, developed an instrument measuring science teaching-anxiety, and investigated the relationship between science teaching-anxiety and science teaching-efficacy. In addition, we attempted to suggest practical implications to enhance teachers' confidence in science teaching. The guiding research questions were 1) which factors affect science teaching-anxiety level of the preservice elementary teachers, and 2) how each factor of science teaching-anxiety is related to science teaching-efficacy. The subjects were 133 Korean preservice elementary teachers (57.1% were female) in a large city. The data sources included teachers' responses to three paper and pencil questionnaires: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Science Teaching-Anxiety Questionnaire (STAQ), and Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B). To clarify the science teaching-anxiety, we specified it into six factors: trait anxiety about nature of science and science teaching, state anxiety about instruction, science activities, student assessment, and professional responsibilities. The results indicated three significant aspects of science teaching anxiety and efficacy. First, their level of anxiety about professional responsibility and science teaching was relatively high among six factors. Second, there was a negative correlation between science teaching-anxiety and science teaching-efficacy. Third, trait anxiety about science teaching is the most influential factor for science teaching-efficacy while state anxiety about instruction and professional responsibilities were followed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.459-467
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to find out the level of science teaching efficacy belief in the elementary school teachers and to find out the students' science process skills and scientific attitudes according to the level of the teacher's science teaching efficacy belief. After measuring science teaching efficacy belief of 109 teachers from nine elementary schools, three teachers who received the high score and three teachers who received the low score were selected from each 5th and 6th grade. Science process skills and scientific attitudes of 331 students who were in the selected 12 teachers' classes were measured. The results of this study were as follows; First, there were significant differences on the elementary school teachers' science teaching efficacy belief according to teacher's gender and career. The men's average score was clearly higher than women's average score on personal science teaching efficacy in science teaching efficacy belief according to teacher's gender. There was a obvious difference between the group of more than six-year less than ten-year and the group of more than fifteen-year less than twenty-year, the group of more than twenty-year on science teaching outcome expectancy in science teaching efficacy belief according to teacher's career. Second, there was not a evident difference on the elementary school students' science process skill according to the level of the elementary school teachers' science teaching efficacy. Third, there was a distinct difference on the elementary school students' scientific attitude according to the elementary school teachers' science teaching efficacy. There was a significant difference on the openness and the endurance in each scientific attitude. The level of science teaching efficacy belief in the elementary school teachers had few effects on the elementary school students' science process skill, on the other hand the level of science teaching efficacy belief in the elementary school teachers had an positive effect on the elementary school students' scientific attitude.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.189-206
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to analyze the mediating effect of pedagogical content knowledge of science teaching on the relations among child care teachers' burnout, science teaching anxiety, and science teaching efficacy. For this study, questionnaires were distributed to 355 teachers working at child care centers in Jollanam-do. The analysis of data was conducted with SPSS WIN 18.0. The results of this study were as follows. First, child care teachers' burnout lowered their science teaching efficacy, and child care teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, as a mediating variable, reduced the negative effect of child care teachers' burnout on their science teaching efficacy. Second, child care teachers' science teaching anxiety lowered their science teaching efficacy, and child care teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, as a mediating variable, reduced the negative effect of child care teachers' science teaching anxiety as an independent variable on their science teaching efficacy. These findings imply there is a need to boost pedagogical content knowledge during in-service teacher education programs.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.131-139
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• 2007

This study investigated whether there was a difference between general teaching efficacy and science teaching efficacy of preservice elementary teachers. And, the difference was also examined in the area of several variables of the preservice teachers, such as gender, the university majors, the high school majors, and grades. The results showed that a significant difference was not found between general teaching efficacy and science teaching efficacy. Teacher variables were found as the major factors to explain the difference. In case of male students who are majoring in science/math at university, and the students who majored in science/math at high school, science teaching efficacy was higher than general teaching efficacy. Whereas, in case of female students and nonscience majors at university and high school, science teaching efficacy was lower than their general teaching efficacy. Educational implications for preservice elementary teachers were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.691-697
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• 2007

This study investigates how well pre-teachers in preschools aware the importance of science teaching methods, goals and efficacy, and how different the pre-teachers recognize the importance of methods and goals in science teaching according to the levels of their science teaching efficacy. The subjects were 207 pre-service preschool teachers in Chonnam University and Chonbuk University. The data were collected by using three questionnaires("Science teaching efficacy", "Science teaching goal" and "Science teaching method"). The data were analyzed by a t-test and descriptive statistic. The results are as follows: first, the efficacy levels of the pre-teachers are higher than the average. The pre-teachers perceive a 'process-oriented' goal more importantly than a 'content-oriented' goal in early science education. Also, they recognize science teaching methods as being significant in the order of an 'interactive' approach, an 'activity-discovery' approach and a 'knowledge-transmission' approach. Second, the pre-teachers with high teaching efficacy recognize a 'process-oriented' goal as being more important than those with low teaching efficacy do.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.361-373
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• 2001

This study identified significant variables that influence the science teaching self-efficacy beliefs of Kindergarten teachers. Data was obtained from 317 kindergarten teachers who responded to the questionnaire, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (Riggs & Enochs). Results indicated that science teaching experience, teachers' attitudes about science and teaching science, and children's interest in science influenced science teaching self-efficacy. Science related experiences of childhood and schooling negatively affected science teaching outcome expectancy.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1427-1442
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• 2012

This study tracked the changes of preservice biology teachers' pedagogical knowledge along with science teaching efficacy throughout sequentially developed science methods course I and II over two consecutive semesters. Two courses, science methods course I and II, aimed these preservice teachers to discuss the notion of science teaching with teaching and learning theories, to learn science instructional models, to design lessons utilizing science instructional models, and to eventually implement microteaching. The preservice teachers were mainly engaged in cooperative instructional planning activities through science methods course I, and engaged in cooperative microteaching activities through the science methods course II. This study revealed that preservice teachers successfully developed pedagogical knowledge and science teaching efficacy after two science methods courses. The science methods course I where cooperative instructional planning activities occurred helped the preservice teachers to improve pedagogical knowledge but not science teaching efficacy. Based on their pedagogical knowledge development, then, these preservice teachers increased science teaching efficacy belief after completion of the science methods course II.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.192-200
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• 2007

In this study, we investigated the variables related to the science teaching efficacy beliefs of pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers. The participants were 176 freshmen and 260 seniors from an university of education and 234 teachers from 25 elementary schools located in Jeonju. Variables concerning pre-service teachers include their sex, career/study tracks (science or non-science), and the number of science courses taken either at high school or at university. Variables concerning in-service teachers include their sex, academic degree, the frequency and type of participation in science in-service training, and their teaching career experience. The Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument was used to measure teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. The results indicated that the personal science teaching efficacy belief scores of seniors were significantly lower than those of freshmen and in-service teachers, whereas the science teaching outcome expectancy scores of seniors were significantly higher than those of freshmen. Among variables investigated, sex, career/study track, the number of science courses taken at high school, and the frequency and type of participation in science in-service training were found to significantly influence teachers' science teaching efficacy beliefs.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.687-697
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• 2003

This study was conducted to investigate the antecedents of teachers' science teaching efficacy in day-care setting. Also, this study aimed to identify relationships between day-care teachers' personal science teaching efficacy and their perspectives on early childhood science education. The subjects were 176 day-care teachers in rural area of ChoongCheongNam-Do. The survey method was used to collect data from the day-care teacher. The instrument were Rigg & Enochs(1990)'s Science Teaching Efficacy Belief and Kim(l998)'s scales for the Goa1s in Early Childhood Science Education. Main results were as follows: 1. Day-care teachers' personal science teaching efficacy were significantly related with the personal variables such as teachers' education, in-service science workshops, science book reading, science-related hobby but not with teachers' age, pre-service science credits and total years of teaching experience. 2. Among the environmental variables, science activity areas were significantly associated with day-care teachers' personal science teaching efficacy. However, location of day-care center, age of children, number of children, teacher-child ratio, facilities for science education and scheduled time for science education did not affect it. 3. Day-care teachers of high content- and process-oriented goals in early childhood science education were highly efficacious teacher, while the teachers of low content- and process-oriented perspectives gained the lowest score. However, the content-oriented teachers and the process-oriented teachers did not differ in terms of day-care teachers' personal science teaching efficacy.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.504-513
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• 2011

The preservice elementary teachers' achievement goal orientations(mastery/ability-approach/ability-avoidance/work-avoidance goal) for science teaching were measured. The student teachers(91 males and 127 females) tended to have the mastery or ability-approach goals rather than the ability-avoidance or work-avoidance goals for science teaching. The male students were more learning focused than were the females, while the female students reported stronger work-avoidance goal orientation than did the males. This study also examined how the preservice teachers' achievement goal orientations were related to their science teaching efficacy beliefs(personal science teaching efficacy belief/science teaching outcome expectancy). As expected, the results showed that there were significantly positive relationships between the mastery or ability-approach goals and science teaching efficacy beliefs, while the significantly negative relationships were found between the ability-avoidance or work-avoidance goal and personal science teaching efficacy belief. The educational implications and future directions were discussed.