شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

The study investigates UAE prospective elementary science teachers’ content knowledge and their level of confidence in teaching science. A total of 46 prospective science teachers enrolled in elementary program at the College of Education participated in the study. Data collected using specifically designed content knowledge paper and pencil test consisted of thirty multiple-choice questions and a questionnaire to explore participants’ confidence in and about aspects of teaching competencies and content knowledge related to teaching. The findings indicated that although participants felt they were more confident about aspects of teaching science in elementary schools, their content knowledge understanding did not match their confidence in their ability to teach scientific content at elementary schools. Implications of these findings were offered suggesting the importance of incorporating the knowledge base science into science methods courses to ensure the development of content knowledge by prospective science teachers. (Published abstract)