Teachers' and prospective teachers' explanations of liquid-state phenomena : a comparative study involving three european countries

Abstract

As contact with liquids occurs from an early stage in individuals' lives, children construct explanations for liquids and liquid-state phenomena. These may differ from the accepted scientific explanations, interfere with formal teaching, and even persist until entry into higher education. The objective of this investigation is to compare student-teachers' and in-service science teachers' explanations for liquid-state phenomena, in three European countries. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire applied to 195 Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish in-service science teachers. Data analysis revealed poor performance among participants, showing low percentages of correct answers. In addition, no systematic differences were found between participants from the three countries, and teaching experience seems to minimize some of the conceptual difficulties showed by in-service teachers. Globally, science education seems to have had a limited effect on student-teachers' and in-service science teachers' conceptions. We conclude that more attention should be paid to the liquid state in both initial and continuing teacher education programs so that teachers can understand more clearly liquid-state phenomena and succeed in explaining them to their students.