Exploring Croatian In-Service Primary Teachers’ Professional Attitudes Toward Science Using the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS)
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review
3. Materials and Methods
- What is the overall level and nature of professional attitudes toward science teaching among Croatian primary school teachers?
- To what extent are more positive attitudes toward science teaching associated with broader and more contemporary views of science among teachers?
- To what extent are more positive professional attitudes toward science teaching associated with the frequency of implementing science-related activities in the primary classroom?
3.1. Questionnaire
3.2. Sample
3.3. Procedures
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Professional Attitude
Totally Disagree (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | Totally Agree (5) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
COGNITIVE BELIEFS | |||||
Relevance of teaching science | |||||
1. I think that science education is essential for making primary school pupils more involved in technological problems in society. | 1.6% | 5.2% | 34.9% | 34.5% | 23.8% |
2. I think that science education is essential for primary school children’s development. | 0.5% | 2.0% | 20.1% | 38.2% | 39.2% |
3. I think that science must be anchored in primary education as early as possible. | 1.1% | 2.4% | 13.3% | 22.9% | 60.3% |
4. I think that science education in the primary school is essential for pupils to be able to make good choices about their studies (e.g., profile choice and choice of a course). | 1.3% | 4.7% | 30.4% | 35.6% | 28.0% |
5. Science education is so important in the primary school that inexperienced teachers should receive additional training in this area. | 4.1% | 5.2% | 22.7% | 30.3% | 37.7% |
Gender-stereotypical beliefs regarding teaching science | |||||
6. I think that boys in primary schools are more enthusiastic about experimenting with materials and chemical substances than girls are. | 42.4% | 18.2% | 29.4% | 8.2% | 1.8% |
7. I think that boys at primary school would be more likely than girls to choose assignments that are concerned with science. | 38.7% | 22.5% | 29.4% | 7.7% | 1.7% |
8. I think that I would unconsciously be more likely to choose a boy for a science demonstration than a girl. | 69.5% | 13.5% | 13.7% | 2.4% | 0.9% |
9. I think that male primary school teachers can do an investigation or technical assignment with pupils more easily than female teachers. | 82.0% | 8.4% | 7.3% | 1.8% | 0.5% |
10. I think that male primary school teachers experience more enjoyment in teaching science than female teachers. | 81.7% | 9.1% | 7.8% | 1.2% | 0.2% |
Difficulty of teaching science | |||||
11. I think that most primary school teachers find it difficult to teach subjects concerning science. | 41.1% | 20.3% | 28.2% | 8.9% | 1.5% |
12. I think that most primary school teachers find science a difficult subject to teach in terms of content. | 40.0% | 19.9% | 29.3% | 8.9% | 1.9% |
13. I think that teachers find the topics that come up in science complicated. | 36.1% | 22.5% | 29.6% | 9.6% | 2.2% |
AFFECTIVE STATES | |||||
Enjoyment in teaching science | |||||
14. Teaching science makes me cheerful. | 1.4% | 1.6% | 21.3% | 35.2% | 40.5% |
15. I feel happy while teaching science. | 1.6% | 2.1% | 23.7% | 35.8% | 36.8% |
16. Teaching science makes me enthusiastic. | 1.6% | 2.8% | 27.6% | 35.1% | 32.9% |
17. I enjoy teaching science very much. | 1.5% | 2.4% | 27.2% | 34.6% | 34.3% |
Anxiety in teaching science | |||||
18. I feel nervous while teaching science. | 60.3% | 21.6% | 14.7% | 2.3% | 1.1% |
19. I feel tense while teaching science in class. | 61.5% | 21.5% | 14.5% | 1.6% | 0.9% |
20. Teaching science makes me nervous. | 74.9% | 14.2% | 9.7% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
21. I feel stressed when I have to teach science in my class. | 73.1% | 15.2% | 10.2% | 0.9% | 0.6% |
PERCEIVED CONTROL | |||||
Self-efficacy | |||||
22. I have enough knowledge of the content of science to teach these subjects well in primary school. | 0.9% | 2.0% | 13.5% | 38.3% | 45.3% |
23. I am well able to deal with questions from pupils about science. | 0.2% | 0.7% | 10.4% | 41.9% | 46.8% |
24. I have a sufficient command of the material to be able to support children well in investigating and designing in class. | 0.3% | 1.8% | 15.4% | 43.7% | 38.8% |
25. If primary school children do not reach a solution during assignments about science, I think I can succeed in helping them make further progress. | 0.2% | 0.9% | 9.1% | 40.8% | 49.0% |
Contextual factors | |||||
26. For me, the availability of a science teaching method is decisive for whether or not I will teach science in class. | 0.5% | 0.8% | 18.0% | 39.9% | 40.8% |
27. For me, the availability of a ready-to-use existing package of materials is essential to teaching science in class. | 1.2% | 1.9% | 14.7% | 34.3% | 47.9% |
28. For me, the support of my colleagues and the school is decisive for whether or not I will teach science in class. | 5.9% | 10.6% | 37.5% | 27.9% | 18.1% |
4.1.1. Cognitive Beliefs
4.1.2. Affective States
4.1.3. Perceived Control
4.2. View on Science
None (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | Very Much (5) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
View on science | |||||
1. Working with chemical substances | 4.8% | 12.0% | 38.3% | 24.9% | 20.0% |
2. Working in a laboratory | 3.7% | 8.5% | 36.6% | 26.4% | 24.8% |
3. Stars and planets | 0.6% | 2.6% | 22.3% | 36.6% | 37.9% |
4. Sustainable energy | 0.2% | 0.7% | 12.0% | 32.6% | 54.5% |
5. Carrying out tests | 0.2% | 1.3% | 14.3% | 29.9% | 54.3% |
6. Devising new ideas | 0.1% | 0.7% | 11.5% | 34.0% | 53.7% |
7. Improving existing things | 0.1% | 0.6% | 15.7% | 35.2% | 48.4% |
8. Communicating ideas to other people | 0.2% | 1.2% | 15.1% | 33.9% | 49.6% |
9. Acquiring knowledge | 0.2% | 0.9% | 13.1% | 31.5% | 54.3% |
10. Researching and inventing | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10.5% | 29.9% | 59.4% |
4.3. Self-Reported Behaviour in Science Teaching
Seldom or Never (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | Daily (5) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-Reported Behaviour in Science Teaching | |||||
1. How often do you teach science in your class (separately and/or integrated)? | 3.6% | 24.3% | 28.2% | 22.7% | 21.2% |
2. How often do you specifically identify activities in class as technical/technology/technology lessons/investigation/science etc.? | 3.4% | 43.3% | 41.9% | 10.7% | 0.7% |
3. How often do you personally devise and prepare a science lesson? | 9.4% | 37.9% | 28.1% | 18.5% | 6.1% |
4. How often do you make an excursion with your pupils in the context of science education (museum, exhibition, company visit, etc.)? | 15.1% | 78.3% | 6.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
5. How often do your pupils test or analyse an existing or personally designed product on its technical aspects? | 46.2% | 43.2% | 8.9% | 1.3% | 0.4% |
6. How often do you carry out an investigation together with your pupils? | 2.8% | 48.4% | 35.9% | 8.5% | 4.3% |
7. How often are your pupils allowed to genuinely carry out an investigation or try to discover something without following a pre-set procedure? | 30.8% | 44.6% | 16.2% | 3.9% | 4.4% |
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
DAS | Dimensions of Attitude toward Science |
TALIS | Teaching and Learning International Survey |
ISCED | International standard classification of education |
PCK | pedagogical content knowledge |
SMK | subject matter knowledge |
SPSS | Statistical Package for the Social Sciences |
Appendix A
Item No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
Median | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Min | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Max | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
IQR (Q1–Q3) | 3–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–5 |
Item No. | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
Median | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Min | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Max | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
IQR (Q1–Q3) | 3–5 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 3–4 |
Item No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Median | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Min | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Max | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
IQR (Q1–Q3) | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 |
Item No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Median | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Min | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Max | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
IQR (Q1–Q3) | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
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Erceg, N.; Ivošević, T. Exploring Croatian In-Service Primary Teachers’ Professional Attitudes Toward Science Using the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS). Educ. Sci. 2025, 15, 692. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060692
Erceg N, Ivošević T. Exploring Croatian In-Service Primary Teachers’ Professional Attitudes Toward Science Using the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS). Education Sciences. 2025; 15(6):692. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060692
Chicago/Turabian StyleErceg, Nataša, and Tatjana Ivošević. 2025. "Exploring Croatian In-Service Primary Teachers’ Professional Attitudes Toward Science Using the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS)" Education Sciences 15, no. 6: 692. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060692
APA StyleErceg, N., & Ivošević, T. (2025). Exploring Croatian In-Service Primary Teachers’ Professional Attitudes Toward Science Using the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS). Education Sciences, 15(6), 692. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060692