A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework in Science Education

Abstract

The development and use of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) can enhance students’ understanding of specific content. PCK occurs at three grain sizes: discipline-, topic-, and concept-specific levels. In 2013, Mavhunga and Rollnick proposed the topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) framework to describe how teachers transform topic-specific content in chemistry lessons. This systematic review brings together worldwide research on TSPCK, offering a thorough summary of the use of topic-specific knowledge in science instruction and identifying areas that most require teacher development. This review, conducted on 29 June 2025 in the Scopus database, identified 34 studies that used the TSPCK framework to investigate teachers’ TSPCK in science in the period from 2013 to 2025. An in-depth analysis of each study’s context, methodological approach, and focus was conducted. Findings revealed that studies mostly measure or improve secondary pre-service and in-service teachers’ PCK, use qualitative or mixed-methods approaches, utilise chemistry and biology topics, and are conducted in the (South) African context. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the use of the TSPCK is highly contextualised. The results also indicate a tendency for research to integrate the TSPCK framework into the Consensus Models of PCK. The review has also highlighted several gaps in PCK research, such as the limited research on pre-school, primary school, and university levels. Furthermore, there is limited research on interventions to improve in-service teachers’ PCK. Implications and opportunities of these findings for research on science teachers’ knowledge (TSPCK) are discussed. We recommend the application of the TSPCK framework to develop and evaluate teachers’ TSPCK through interventions such as workshops, lesson studies, micro-teaching and training modules. Furthermore, research may involve comparative studies with teachers having different degrees of teaching experience, including pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators.