Keywords

School Culture, Science Education, Teacher Behavior, Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

This ethnographic case study investigated one elementary school to understand how the school's culture influenced its science curriculum design and instruction. The main data was formal and informal semi-structured interviews with key teachers to understand their values, beliefs, practices, materials, and problems with science instruction. To triangulate these data, the researcher observed classroom practice, school-wide activities, and collected artifacts and documents. Data were analyzed using a theoretical framework that emphasizes that culture cannot be reduced to beliefs, values, practices, materials or problems, but rather each aspect of culture is interdependent and mutually reinforcing. The main finding suggests that the school's culture is organized to accomplish other curricular goals than effective science education. Science is rarely taught by most teachers and rarely taught well when it is. While the teachers know the rhetoric of effective science education and value it enough to not dismiss it entirely, most value it less than most other subjects and they are not proficient with science instruction and materials. This study builds upon the literature by reiterating that school culture plays a central role in elementary science education, but adds to that literature by emphasizing that culture cannot be reduced to one or a few factors and must be seen as an organic whole.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2006

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Boote, David

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Studies

Degree Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001412

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001412

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Download

Share

COinS