www.john-paul.org.uk > teach > read (science education)

Here are some links to science education research readings for the CCCU spotlight questions (help here). For general readings please click here.

• These are just a few suggestions to get you started in your science reading. All the suggestions are peer-reviewed journal articles you can access (as a CCCU student) or eBooks. For advice on sources please click here and see '1. Sources'. For some suggestions about policy reading please click here and see 'teach' > 'education policy'. For my writing please click here.

• Perhaps try searching for some of these readings on Google Scholar, then click 'cited by' to see papers and books that have cited these ones, written even more recently. Try clicking the inverted commas in Google Scholar and then 'RefWorks' (click here for a video explaining how to use RefWorks).

• Please click here for a Word version of this page. 

• Please click here to make suggestions or comments about this page.

1. Avraamidou, L. (2014). Studying science teacher identity: Current insights and future research directions. Studies in Science Education, 50(2), 145-179.

2. Eick, C. J., & Reed, C. J. (2002). What makes an inquiry‐oriented science teacher? The influence of learning histories on student teacher role identity and practice. Science Education, 86(3), 401-416.

3. Saka, Y., Southerland, S. A., Kittleson, J., & Hutner, T. (2013). Understanding the induction of a science teacher: The interaction of identity and context. Research in Science Education, 43(3), 1221-1244.

1. Abrahams, I., & Millar, R. (2008). Does practical work really work? A study of the effectiveness of practical work as a teaching and learning method in school science. International Journal of Science Education, 30(14), 1945-1969.

2. Banister, F., & Ryan, C. (2001). Developing science concepts through story-telling. School Science Review, 82, 75-84.

3. Chin, C. (2007). Teacher questioning in science classrooms. Approaches that stimulate productive thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(6), 815-843.

4. Cross, A., & Bowden, A. (2009). Essential primary science. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

5. Riley, P. (2015) Teaching Primary Science. London: Bloomsbury.

6. Roden, J., Ward, H. & Ritchie, H. (2007). Extending Knowledge in Practice Primary Science. Exeter: Learning Matters.

7. Rutledge, N. (2010). Primary Science: Teaching The Tricky Bits: Teaching the Tricky Bits. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

1. Abell, S. K. (2013). Research on science teacher knowledge. In Handbook of research on science education (pp. 1119-1164). London: Routledge.

2. Chen, J. L., & Mensah, F. M. (2018). Teaching contexts that influence elementary preservice teachers’ teacher and science teacher identity development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(5), 420-439.

3. Harlen, W. (2018). The teaching of science in primary schools. 6th edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

1. Davies, D., & McGregor, D. (2016). Teaching science creatively. London: Routledge.

2. Millar, R. (2010). Using research to improve practice in science education: Where should we begin, and what should we aim to produce?. Designing Theory-Based Teaching-Learning Sequences for Science Education, 55.

3. Miller, R. (ed.) (2015) Working with Big Ideas of Science Education. Trieste: Science Education Programme (SEP) of IAP.

4. Treagust, D. F., Won, M., & Duit, R. (2014). 'Paradigms in science education research', in Lederman, N. G., & Abell, S. K. (Eds.) Handbook of Research on Science Education. Volume II, New York: Routledge, pp. 3-17. [NB I have requested the library buy this on 16/6/21]

1. Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., & Wood-Robinson, V. (2015). Making sense of secondary science: Research into children's ideas. London: Routledge. [highly recommended for primary science]

2. Fan, H., Xu, J., Cai, Z., He, J., & Fan, X. (2017). Homework and students' achievement in math and science: A 30-year meta-analysis, 1986–2015. Educational Research Review, 20, 35-54.

3. Smolleck, L. (2011). Playing with science: an investigation of young children's science conceptions and misconceptions. Current issues in education, 14(1).

1. Billingsley, B., Brock, R., Taber, K. S., & Riga, F. (2016). How students view the boundaries between their science and religious education concerning the origins of life and the universe. Science education, 100(3), 459-482.

2. Carlone, H. B., & Johnson, A. (2007). Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: Science identity as an analytic lens. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 44(8), 1187-1218.

3. Francis, B., Archer, L., Moote, J., de Witt, J., & Yeomans, L. (2017). Femininity, science, and the denigration of the girly girl. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(8), 1097-1110.

4. Southerland, S. A., & Gess‐Newsome, J. (1999). Preservice teachers' views of inclusive science teaching as shaped by images of teaching, learning, and knowledge. Science Education, 83(2), 131-150.

1. Ateh, C. M. (2015). Science Teachers' Elicitation Practices: Insights for Formative Assessment. Educational Assessment, 20(2), 112-131.

2. Cooke V. & Howard, C. (2014) Practical ideas for teaching primary science. Northwich: Critical Publishing.

3. Loxley, P., Dawes, L., Nicholls, L., & Dore, B. (2017). Teaching primary science: Promoting enjoyment and developing understanding. London: Routledge.

1. Bianchi, L. (2011) Science beyond the classroom boundaries. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

2. Osborne, J., & Collins, S. (2001). Pupils' views of the role and value of the science curriculum: a focus-group study. International journal of science education, 23(5), 441-467.

3. Sikorski, T. R., & Hammer, D. (2017). Looking for coherence in science curriculum. Science Education, 101(6), 929-943.

4. Stuckey, M., Hofstein, A., Mamlok-Naaman, R., & Eilks, I. (2013). The meaning of ‘relevance’ in science education and its implications for the science curriculum. Studies in Science Education, 49(1), 1-34.

1. Halverson, R., Feinstein, N., & Meshoulam, D. (2011). School leadership for science education, in DeBoer, G. E. (ed.) The role of public policy in K-12 science education, Charlotte: Information Age Publishing, pp. 397-430.

2. Howe, A. C., & Stubbs, H. S. (2003). From science teacher to teacher leader: Leadership development as meaning making in a community of practice. Science Education, 87(2), 281-297.

3. Penuel, W. R., & Fishman, B. J. (2012). Large‐scale science education intervention research we can use. Journal of research in science teaching, 49(3), 281-304.

1. Blackmore, K., Howard, C., & Kington, A. (2018). Trainee teachers’ experience of primary science teaching, and the perceived impact on their developing professional identity. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(4), 529-548.

2. Larrain, A., Howe, C., & Freire, P. (2018). ‘More is not necessarily better’: curriculum materials support the impact of classroom argumentative dialogue in science teaching on content knowledge. Research in Science & Technological Education, 36(3), 282-301.

3. Logan, M. R., & Skamp, K. R. (2013). The impact of teachers and their science teaching on students’‘science interest’: A four-year study. International Journal of Science Education, 35(17), 2879-2904.