EFFICACY-RELATED BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT EQUITABLE SCIENCE TEACHING: A CASE STUDY IN AN URBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Abstract

Science "for all" programs have been advanced as the model for introducing and maintaining high standards for science education in every classroom. While standards documents have been an important equalizing force in education for the last twenty years, disparities still exist across multiple student indicators in urban schools. Teaching quality is one of the important factors that contribute to such outcomes and these disparities raise the issue of equitable teaching practices, especially in science. A review of the literature at the intersection of science education and urban education supported the creation of a construct for equitable science teaching that goes beyond content-narrowed "for all" pedagogies to more inclusive "by all" teaching approaches. Scholarship on science teaching in urban settings frequently references reform and efficacy beliefs to bound research questions. The task-specific nature of efficacy beliefs as a construct makes it particularly useful for scrutinizing teaching practices. This dissertation used case study methods to examine aspects of equitable science teaching in an elementary school located in a small urban district in New Jersey. The research design was based on models of collaborative action research. Three key informants in two classrooms helped build understanding of teachers' efficacy-related beliefs about equitable science teaching over the course of one year (Spring 2008 through Spring 2009). Within case and between-case analysis of teaching beliefs and practices were conducted. Key findings from the study suggest that it may be possible to observe change in low efficacy teachers' beliefs over time. Quantitative and qualitative data suggest that it may be possible to build equitable beliefs and practices among in-service teachers. An action plan that includes providing non-evaluative support to teachers in the classroom is discussed. Supports that included immediate feedback, individual and small group reflection and specific tools designed to collect teacher-level data were shown to be important elements for practicing teachers as they worked to build both efficacy beliefs and equitable praxis. Equitable science teaching challenges belief systems but allows for practices to change organically and without prescription. Implications for policy makers, teacher educators, administrators and teachers are discussed.