Examination of prospective teachers’ views, attitudes, and practices towards the history and philosophy of science course

Abstract

The history and philosophy of science course is among the very important courses for prospective teachers in terms of understanding the development of science, evaluating its social and cultural context, developing scientific thinking skills, and better understanding and teaching scientific knowledge. Studies on this subject are important in terms of teaching planning and development. This research aimed to examine prospective teachers’ opinions, attitudes and practices towards the history and philosophy of science course. The study group, conducted within the scope of a special case study, consists of 54 prospective teachers studying at a state university in different programs in the 2020-2021 academic year. An opinion form prepared by taking expert opinions, the history of science attitude scale and lesson plans prepared by prospective teachers were used as data collection tools. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded with six prospective teachers. The data obtained from the opinion form, interviews and lesson plans were analyzed qualitatively and codes, categories and themes were created. The findings obtained were interpreted and supported by direct quotations. The data obtained from the attitude scale was analyzed with the SPSS program. The findings revealed that the attitudes towards the history and philosophy of science course were generally positive, the course content was sufficient, and the prospective teachers found the course fun, interesting, intriguing, and very useful in terms of questioning and developing different perspectives. In line with the results obtained, suggestions were made to educators and researchers.