Date

5-25-2023

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Laura J. Mansfield

Keywords

attitudes, biological sex, curriculum resource, curriculum unit of study, preservice teachers, self-efficacy, teaching experience, urban schools

Disciplines

Elementary Education

Abstract

This quantitative, causal-comparative research study analyzed the difference in teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching in an urban elementary school setting based on biological sex, teaching experience, and the use of a science instructional unit of study. The study was significant because it revealed that teaching experience influenced elementary teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching, contributing to the body of knowledge about elementary teachers in an urban setting and related to science education. A convenience sample of 120 study participants in the Georgia urban area was selected. The teacher participants completed the online ten-minute Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science instrument that measured teachers’ cognitive beliefs, affective states, and perceived control toward science teaching. The SurveyMonkey© website with anonymous settings collected the survey data. The researcher conducted three independent sample t-tests and a statistical analysis to evaluate each null hypothesis, which showed a statically significant difference in teachers’ attitudes toward science teaching in an urban elementary school setting based on three or more years of teaching experience. This study showed a significant difference between experienced and less-experienced teachers’ attitudes. Future research includes analyzing teachers’ attitudes toward science based on each attitudinal component and subcomponent.

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