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ABSTRACT: In primary science education, we face an ongoing concern of helping classroom teachers overcome negative associations with science content, teaching and learning. These associations can often impact how they view the value of science in their classroom teaching and impede the development of innovative teaching practice. This research effort investigated in-service teachers' perceptions, reflections and considerations that resulted from their direct involvement within a science-focused school university partnership. Utilizing a multiple case study design, this research effort analyzed partnership efforts across five established science-focused partnership programs in the Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania. Analysis of interview data with 80 in-service teachers from across partner sites indicated an increased valuing of science, where teachers viewed working with pre-service teachers as a professional development opportunity, resulting in additional time spent on developing and teaching through inquiry-based science practices.
NAPDS Essentials addressed in the manuscript: 3. Ongoing and reciprocal professional development for all participants guided by need; 4. A shared commitment to innovative and reflective practice by all participants; 8. Work by college/university faculty and P-12 faculty in formal roles across institutional settings
This work depicts school/university partnerships carried out across five Australian universities, where some or all aspects of university courses for primary science methods were embedded in public school classrooms. The partnerships across these sites have been operating for many years and many school partners saw these partnerships as part of the fabric of the school community. This is not surprising considering Australia has a strong commitment to apprenticeships across all fields, but particularly with school-university partnerships (Kruger, Davies, Eckersley, Newell, & Cherednichenko, 2009). This commitment was framed as aspirational policy by the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) in 2004, proclaiming that teacher education must work to bridge the practice theory divide by committing to efforts to inform practice for both universitybased teacher educators and school-based teachers/administrators. The standards for Australian teacher education, designed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL, 2011), clearly articulate that the preparation of teachers involves an ecosystem of educators with an obligation to build partnerships that share responsibilities, "among teacher education providers, schools, teachers, employers, and teacher regulatory authorities" (p. 4).
Partnership efforts are also an important feature in the preparation of teachers...