Preservice Teachers’ Views of Indigenous Science: An Australian Case Study

Abstract

This paper explores primary and secondary teacher education student views of indigenous science within their future primary or secondary classroom. Preservice teachers enrolled in primary or secondary science education courses on the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University in Australia were invited to participate in an online survey as a means to explore their views of science education, indigenous science and the relative importance of western and indigenous content and pedagogy in their future classroom. The predominant view that western science content and pedagogy is more important than indigenous science content and pedagogy was evident in this study. This finding is further illuminated by a thematic analysis of opened ended questions that identify what students' identified indigenous science might look like in their classroom and the opportunities and constraints for future inclusion. The paper concludes with an examination of possible implications for preservice science education.