International Journal of Science Education

Duifhuis, Peter; van Dijk, Gerald; Savelsbergh, Elwin

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2546459pmid: N/A

Education for sustainable development (ESD) presents challenges to secondary science teachers. Characteristic aspects such as action-oriented teaching, stance-taking, interdisciplinary problem-solving, and emotional and value-oriented teaching cause tensions for teachers accustomed to traditional science teaching. To help future science teachers face these challenges, understanding how these tensions are rooted in teaching visions is crucial. In the context of teacher education, this study aims to explain pre-service science teachers’ visions on these tension-inducing aspects of ESD. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews and written reflections of ten participants in a course on ESD, we document beliefs and experiences that underlie their visions. A belief that supports teaching ESD is that education should contribute to a sustainable future. Prevalent beliefs that cause tensions with ESD are that education should not impose values; that one’s subject matter knowledge is insufficient; and that the scientific knowledge is unreliable. Experiences from the course that influence these beliefs, are confrontations with visions of peers, pupils, and professionals; exposure to ESD teaching practices; and inquiry into a socio-scientific issue, all of which alleviated tensions. Findings help teacher educators understand pre-service science teachers’ visions and provide suggestions for activities that foster vision development.

Gito Gizaw, Gidele; Sorsa Sota, Solomon; Assefa Zinabu, Samuel; Workineh Adamu, Deribe

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2547410pmid: N/A

Scientific reasoning ability is a key professional competency for science teachers. In this regard, greater attention should be given to the assessment and development of scientific reasoning abilities in pre-service science teachers (PSSTs). Literature shows explicit Science Process Skill (SPS) instruction supports SPS development, but its impact on scientific reasoning remains underexplored. This study investigated the impact of explicit SPS instruction, utilising a four-component instructional design (4C/ID) model, on the scientific reasoning abilities of PSSTs. Data were collected using the Lawson Test for Scientific Reasoning Ability and analysed quantitatively through descriptive and inferential statistics, including paired t-tests, repeated measures MANOVA, and univariate tests. The findings revealed that the scientific reasoning abilities of the participants were at the concrete or formal operational level, with low performance across all scientific reasoning subcomponents and overall scientific reasoning ability. The intervention with explicit SPS instruction significantly improved the PSSTs’ abilities in controlling variables, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, and overall scientific reasoning. However, the intervention had limited effects on the scientific reasoning components related to the conservation of matter and volume, and proportional, probability, and correlation reasoning. The study emphasises the need to develop scientific reasoning ability in PSSTs, noting that explicit SPS instruction supports this development.

Kara, Serpil

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2540620pmid: N/A

This study aims to evaluate the interdisciplinary science teaching practices conducted in the context of socioscientific issues and pre-service science teachers’ opinions about the course. The participants (N = 59) are fourth-year students from two classes in the science teacher education program. In line with the purpose of the study, the case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was preferred. The data collected using the ‘Interdisciplinary Science Teaching Levels Rubric’ and a ‘Semi-Structured Interview Form’ as data collection tools were analyzed. As a result of the implemented practices, it was determined that the pre-service teachers were generally able to carry out interdisciplinary science teaching in the context of socioscientific issues (SSIs) effectively. When the pre-service teachers’ opinions about the course were evaluated, the following themes were identified: the essential components of interdisciplinary science teaching, the contributions of SSIs to the interdisciplinary science teaching course, and suggestions for delivering the course more effectively. Based on the findings and the identified themes, various suggestions were made.

Jones, Eli A.; Harrell-Williams, Leigh M.; Walden, Luke C.; Ayers, Katherine A.; Piontek, Justine; Pennella, Robyn A.; Mulé, Taylor

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2540618pmid: N/A

The Draw-a-scientist Test (DAST) and its associated rubrics are frequently used in science education settings to measure student perception of scientists. As the use and interpretation of such checklists are dependent on the measurement quality of the scores, sound validity evidence is essential for their use. This study provides a psychometric exploration of scores from a revised version of the DAST checklist (the DAST-CR) to provide concrete evidence regarding how well rater-provided checklist scores measure perceived scientist stereotypes in student drawings. Drawings come from 72 5th-grade students participating in an after-school STEM club run by a partnership between five elementary schools and a large research hospital in the southern United States. Following calibration training, twelve raters rated the drawings using the DAST-CR. Results of a many-facet Rasch analysis indicate that raters provided generally good-quality consistent ratings, and that both the original and the updated categories function well in distinguishing between varying levels of stereotype in student drawings. However, the ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ sections of the checklist may measure conceptually different stereotypes; therefore, a ‘total’ score may not be appropriate for research or practice. Further, our results confirm that DAST scores may be influenced by the level of detail students provide.

Sui, Chi-Jung; Yen, Miao-Hsuan; Lin, Yi-Chen; Wang, Chia-Yu; Chang, Chun-Yen

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2537143pmid: N/A

The current study addresses a notable gap in our understanding of what self-assessment design improves students’ socio-scientific argumentation. We investigated the effects of three self-assessment designs: (1) Prediction-only, where students predicted their performance; (2) Standards-informed, where students predicted their performance and compared it against evaluation criteria; and (3) Reflective-adaptation, which additionally engaged students in reflecting on and adjusting their learning strategies. A total of 116 eighth-grade students were assigned to one of these three groups. Over the course of three units focused on energy-related socio-scientific issues, we examined students’ cognitive and metacognitive outcomes – including the quality of their arguments (supporting claims and rebuttals), the accuracy of their self-assessments, and their self-regulation growth from pre – to post-test. Results showed that only the Reflective-adaptation group exhibited a significant improvement in self-regulation. Moreover, this group demonstrated the most substantial gains in argumentation quality over time, particularly in generating well-supported claims. These findings highlight the pivotal role of adaptation tasks in helping students move beyond monitoring toward active regulation. This shift not only enhanced cognitive performance but also strengthened metacognitive skills, underscoring the value of comprehensive self-assessment approaches in science education.

Çelik, Melahat; Doğru, Mustafa; Alkış Küçükaydın, Menşure

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2549384pmid: N/A

Research worldwide is looking for ways to reform science education and increase student engagement in science education. Determining students’ engagement in science education can provide insight into the effectiveness of teaching and learning activities. For this reason, the Student Engagement in Science Learning scale, which was previously developed in a different sample, was adapted into Turkish. In this context, a two-way study was conducted. First, the validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted. 625 high school students participated in the study (M = 16.01, SD = 1.21). The results showed that the scale had good fit values for its four-dimensional and 20-item structure. Then, with the help of the adapted scale, the relationship between engagement in science learning and demographic variables and epistemological beliefs was tested. In this context, it was found that participation in science learning differed in some dimensions of the scale in favour of male students. In addition, the level of participation in science learning varied according to grade level. A weak relationship was found between students’ engagement in science learning and epistemological beliefs. The study provides pioneering results in students’ engagement in science learning and includes predictions about the variables that must be considered.

Saribas, Deniz

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2547412pmid: N/A

Contemporary conceptions of science literacy emphasise student participation in global issues, such as environmental challenges and climate action. From this perspective, the current study examines pre-service elementary teachers’ (PETs) ability to inspire students to engage in these issues and become proactive citizens capable of addressing environmental challenges. It focuses on PETs’ selection of environmental and sustainability problems and their analysis of curricular objectives. Reflections from 51 PETs enrolled in an Environmental Education course were analysed. Most (42) addressed topics like climate change, pollution, and habitats but lacked clear connections, specific examples, or curriculum-related strategies. In contrast, nine reflections on plastic waste and waste management demonstrated a deeper understanding of the issue and teaching approaches. These nine were selected for further analysis to explore participants’ perspectives on environmental issues and curricular objectives. The study concludes by highlighting the importance of integrating sustainability education into schools and proposes a rubric to assess PETs’ scientific literacy in addressing environmental challenges during teacher training.

Şenel-Zor, Tuba; Selvi, Mahmut; Aslan, Oktay

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2542989pmid: N/A

This study aims to examine the types of informal reasoning and the quality of arguments regarding socioscientific issues among gifted students. A multiple case study design was used in the research. The study group was determined using the criterion sampling method. The data were collected through the ‘Participant Information Form,’ ‘Epistemological Beliefs Scale,’ ‘Socioscientific Issue Scenarios,’ and ‘Interviews.’ The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive, descriptive statistical, and content analysis methods. The findings showed that the participants tended to engage in rational informal reasoning more frequently during the decision-making process on socioscientific issues and rarely resorted to emotional informal reasoning. Additionally, the majority of the participants developed high-quality arguments that included strong rebuttals. Finally, it was shown that all participants possessed complex epistemological beliefs. The research results indicate that gifted students: (i) have a deep understanding of the general characteristics and production process of scientific knowledge, (ii) demonstrate high-quality informal reasoning, but (iii) have not yet explored the emotional aspects of many socioscientific issues addressed in the study and have not approached these issues from a multifaceted perspective.

Guerrero, Gonzalo; Sjöström, Jesper; Fuchs, Travis T.; Lee, Hyunju; Valladares, Liliana

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2534044pmid: N/A

Amid intensifying global crises—including environmental degradation, socio-ecological injustices, and widespread public mistrust in science—science education must be re-envisioned through more critical and global but also local inclusive lenses. This response article critically engages with the recent contribution by Lederman et al. (2025), who introduce the concept of global functional scientific literacy. While their intervention is timely, we argue that their framing is limited, decontextualised, and insufficiently attentive to broader socio-political and epistemic concerns. Building on Vision III and recent scholarship in critical scientific literacies, we propose the notion of critical global functional scientific literacies as a more expansive and transformative framework. These literacies encompass not only scientific understanding and real-world application, but also socio-cultural, ethical, glocal and political dimensions that foster agency and collective action. Through this critique, we advocate for a form of science education that is justiceoriented, pluralistic, and reflexive—one capable of meaningfully engaging with the complexities and urgencies of the contemporary world. Our response builds on and extends previous critiques, emphasising that science education should function as a site of collective empowerment, rather than mere knowledge transmission.

Yang, Fang-Ying; Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar; Zhang, Wan-Yue; Lampropoulos, Georgios; Guo, Yu-Ting

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2025.2542987pmid: N/A

This study explored the relationships between argumentative reasoning, justification beliefs, and prior experience with scientific information. Over 300 engineering students from India, aged 20–23, participated. An online science reading and reasoning survey with open-ended questions assessed reasoning behaviours. Prior experience with scientific information was assessed through self-reported measures of reading frequency and the number of sources consulted. The Justification for Knowledge Questionnaire (JFK-Q) measured students’ justification beliefs. Content analysis evaluated reasoning performance while descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, cluster analyses, and ANOVA identified key relationships. The results showed that students struggled to use evidence and consider counterarguments, but could identify certain knowledge to support their claims. Justification by research-based authority was the most agree-upon beliefs. Personal justification and justification by research-based authority both significantly predicted reasoning performance but in contrasting ways. Cluster analysis identified four types of information experience. Students with moderate experience exhibited more adaptive justification beliefs and better argumentative reasoning.