Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding And Interest In Basic Electronics, Balancing Of Chemical Equation, Infectious And Non-Infectious Diseases In Integrated Science

Abstract

Conceptual understanding and interest in integrated science concepts have been a challenge to most pre-service teachers. Therefore, this research focused on pre-service College of Education teachers’ conceptual understanding and interest in some Integrated Science concepts, mainly basic electronics, balancing of chemical equations, and infectious and non-infectious diseases. Second-year pre-service teachers from the three Colleges of Education affiliated with the University of Education, Winneba, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, were used as the study population. Simple random sampling technique was used to select second year Pre-service Teachers. In all, 255 pre-service teachers were used for the study. The instrument adapted for the study was achievement tests on integrated science concepts, and a questionnaire on students interest in integrated science concepts was used to gather the data. The quantitative data was analysed using frequency, means, standard deviation and correlation and the qualitative data was thematically analysed. The results revealed that pre-service teachers conceptual understanding of balancing of chemical equation were very low, followed by basic electronics but have a partial scientific understanding of infectious and non-infectious diseases. Preservice teachers’ exhibited a moderate interest in basic electronics, balancing of chemical equations, and infectious and non-infectious diseases could be due to the abstract nature of the concepts. There was no correlation between interest and performance. It was recommended that tutors at the Colleges of Education use conceptual change strategies to help improve pre-service teachers’ conceptual understanding and interest in the selected concepts in integrated science.