Attitudes of preschool teachers towards teaching science and their relationship with attitudes toward gender roles

Abstract

Jedan od zadataka suvremenih odgojitelja jest poticanje djeteta na otkrivanje, eksperimentiranje i istraživanje u bogatoj vrtićkoj okolini u svrhu razvoja znanstvenog načina mišljenja. Međutim, PISA testiranja iz područja znanosti i matematike već godinama idu u korist dječacima. Opažena razlika može biti posljedica različitih okolinskih utjecaja prisutnih od najranije dobi. Prema tome, stav odgojitelja o rodnim ulogama djece može biti povezan sa stavovima o znanstvenim aktivnostima u vrtiću kao tradicionalno „muškim“ aktivnostima rezerviranim za dječake. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti stavove odgojiteljica prema poučavanju znanosti u dječjim vrtićima, ali i utvrditi povezanosti s njihovim općim podacima i stavovima o rodnim ulogama djece. U online istraživanju sudjelovala je 481 odgojiteljica u dobi od 23 do 64 godine s prosječno 14 godina radnog iskustva. Njihovi stavovi ispitani su Ljestvicom stavova odraslih prema rodnim ulogama djece i Ljestvicom stavova prema poučavanju znanosti u predškolskim ustanovama te su prikupljeni opći podaci. Rezultati pokazuju kako stavovi prema poučavanju znanosti nisu povezani s dobi ili godinama radnog staža, već s važnosti vjere. Nadalje, što odgojiteljice imaju tradicionalnije stavove prema rodnim ulogama, to doživljavaju više anksioznosti i manje ugode prilikom provedbe znanstvenih aktivnosti, percipiraju manju samoefikasnost u poučavanju, više su ovisne o kontekstualnim faktorima (npr. postojanju materijala za poučavanje znanosti), znanost percipiraju manje relevantnom i doživljavaju više poteškoća u poučavanju. U radu su raspravljene praktične implikacije i smjernice za buduća istraživanja.One of the main goals of the present-day preschool teachers is to encourage children to discover, experiment and research in a rich environment for the purpose of developing a scientific way of thinking. However, for years PISA tests in the field of science and mathematics are in favor of boys. The observed difference may be the consequence of the various contextual influences present from the earliest age. The attitudes of preschool teachers about children gender roles can be related to attitudes about scientific activities as traditional "male" activities reserved for boys. The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes of preschool teachers about teaching science, as well as to establish correlations with general data and attitudes about children gender roles. 481 preschool teachers between the ages of 23 and 64 with an average of 14 years of work experience participated in On-line survey. Their attitudes were studied by the Child Rearing Sex- Roles Attitudes Scale and Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science. Also, general and demographic data were collected. The results show that attitudes towards teaching science are not related to their age or experience, but to their importance of religion. Furthermore, preschool teachers who have more traditional attitudes towards gender roles experience more anxiety and less comfort when demonstrating scientific activity, perceive less self-efficiency in teaching, are more dependent on contextual factors (e.g., the existence of science teaching materials) and experience more difficulty in teaching. Practical implications and recommendations for future research are addressed in this paper