The ideal science teacher: a small-scale study on how science teachers see themselves in the classroom

Abstract

In educational philosophy and theory there are long debates on the ideal teacher. Some prioritize the cognitive aims of teaching (e.g. providing knowledge, developing critical thinking, etc.), others the social and emotional aims (e.g. disciplining, giving motivations, building relationships with students, etc.), while others yet suggest that all the above should be pursued by any single teacher. Within this debate, there is little talk about science teacher in particular. Are they supposed to worry about whether students just “learned their physics”? Common sense, reinforced by educational policy today, indeed often sees them as mere transmitters of scientific information. But this may not be how they see themselves. This paper will report on a small-scale study that shows that science teachers themselves recognize a multi-dimensional role of their teaching and try to accommodate different educational aims within the science-class.