IN-SERVICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERSʹ BELIEFS IN SCIENCE TEACHING PRACTICES

The present study aimed to (1) determine elementary school teachersʹ beliefs in using reform-based instructional strategies and traditional teaching approaches in science classrooms as well as their self-efficacy beliefs in science teaching, (2) examine the effect of sex and school type on those beliefs, and (3) investigate the significant predictors of teachersʹ beliefs in using inquiry-based teaching strategies. The data were collected through implementation of Turkish version of ʹTeacher Beliefs toward Instructional Pedagogies Questionnaireʹ to 197 in-service teachers. The results reflected that the participants had strong favorable beliefs in using inquiry-based and technology-enhanced instructional strategies, whereas they did not hold strong beliefs to use traditionally-designed instructional strategies. The results also revealed that private school teachers had significantly higher self-efficacy beliefs than public school teachers. It was found that beliefs in using technology, self-efficacy, and experience in teaching were among the significant predictors of beliefs in using inquiry-based instructional strategies.