Perspectives on Practices and Challenges of Science Teaching and Learning: The Voices of Primary Teachers and Gifted Students

Abstract

Teaching science to promote student interest in learning science has been a major focus of researchers and educators for the last three decades in Australia. Similarly, a rapid development in the field of gifted education over the past two decades has suggested that gifted students have a deep interest in science. Many studies have indicated, however, that students’ interests in and engagement with science diminishes markedly in the final years of primary school. Therefore, more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education opportunities for all students, including gifted students, are needed in primary school so that students can engage in meaningful learning in science. Hence, the aim of this research is to explore the perspectives of primary science teachers and gifted students associated with the practices and challenges of science teaching and learning of gifted students at the primary level. These phenomena were investigated by incorporating an inductive approach to analysing qualitative content from interviews (with teachers) and focus groups (with gifted students) in primary schools from the Sydney region in New South Wales, Australia. The findings suggest that teachers’ perspectives of science teaching and their perceived challenges with teaching science impact negatively on gifted students’ science learning. As a result, the primary school teachers need to determine the preferences for learning of gifted students and adapt differentiated teaching strategies that would stimulate the progress of gifted students in science education.