Kardelen Azra Ateş: Why Teach Science?: Scientific Literacy in Teacher Education from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This thesis investigates how scientific literacy is constituted in elementary science teacher education by examining the perspectives of pre-service science teachers and official teacher education documents, including comparative perspectives. Framed within a sociocultural and comparative didactic perspective, the thesis explores how conceptions of scientific literacy are situated within different educational traditions, curriculum structures, and broader contexts in Sweden and Türkiye. The overarching aim is to understand how scientific literacy is conceptualized, constituted, perceived, and interpreted in science teacher education, and the possible implications of these meanings for future science teaching. The thesis consists of three empirical studies. The first study explored Swedish pre-service science teachers’ perspectives on scientific literacy and their explanations of what, how, and why they plan to teach in the future. The results indicated that while pre-service teachers expressed an interest in science or teaching, their perspectives were often grounded in content or everyday encounters rather than in engagement with societal issues. The second study compared pre-service science teachers’ perspectives on scientific literacy in Sweden and Türkiye. Across both contexts, participants privileged correct explanations and everyday applications of scientific knowledge, whereas socio-scientific issues and scientific engagement were virtually ignored. While pre-service teachers from both countries problematized their teacher education, they did so through distinct lenses. The third study focused on science teacher education policy documents in both countries and revealed two dominant discourses: a disciplinary discourse, dominant in Türkiye, framing scientific literacy as a body of knowledge to be constructed; and an integrative discourse, dominant in Sweden, positioning scientific literacy as a way of connecting science to democracy, sustainability, and everyday life. The findings of the three articles also showed that what pre-service science teachers wished to learn during teacher education did not always align with what was stated in the official documents regarding the curricula and teacher education program descriptions in both countries. Through a comparative didactic approach, this thesis contributes conceptually and empirically to understanding how scientific literacy is context dependent. The thesis includes both practical and theoretical implications.