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This article attempts to address the challenge that preschool teachers face, when integrating a specific content area, science, with play. The study builds on the theoretical framework of Play-Responsive Early Childhood Education and Care (PRECEC), in which teaching, and play are understood as a mutual activity. In this mutual activity, teachers and children signal their participation by shifting between as if (fantasy and fictional worlds) and as is (acquiring knowledge of the world as it is) (Pramling et al., 2019). The empirical data consists of video-observations of a preschool teacher and 1-4-year-old children who participate in activities that incorporate play and scientific content. The video-observations were analysed through studying how and why shifts between as is and as if were made by the preschool teacher. The results show that the preschool teacher made the play shift between as if and as is through different types of actions (voice change and bodily expression). Further, shifts seemed to be made with two aims in sight: science learning and socialisation. In conclusion, the preschool teacher (as a more knowledgeable adult) has an important role in creating a responsive environment and in introducing science content, which does not arise by itself. Implications for preschool teachers and preschool practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of nature of science (NOS) in science education has for a long time been regarded as crucial. There is, however, a lack of research on appropriate NOS aspects for different educational levels. An even more neglected area of research is that focusing on teachers' perspectives on NOS teaching at different levels. The aim of this article is to examine NOS progression in the light of teachers' suggestions and rationales. In order to obtain teachers' informed perspectives, we chose to involve six teachers (teaching grades 1–9) in a 3-year research project. They took part in focus group discussions about NOS and NOS teaching as well as implemented jointly planned NOS teaching sessions. Data that this article builds on was collected at the end of the project. The teachers' suggestions for NOS progression often relied on adding more NOS issues at every stage, thereby creating the foundations of a broader but not necessarily deeper understanding of NOS. Five rationales, for if/when specific NOS issues are appropriate to introduce, emerged from the analysis of the teacher discussions. Some of these rationales, including practice makes perfect and increasing levels of depth can potentially accommodate room for many NOS issues in the science classroom, while maturity and experience instead has a restricting effect on NOS teaching. Also, choice of context and teaching approaches play an important role in teachers' rationales for whether specific NOS issues should be included or not at different stages. The article discusses the implications for teacher education and professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional school science has been described as focused on indisputable facts where scientific processes and factors affecting these processes become obscured or left undiscussed. In this article, we report on teachers' perspectives on the teaching of sociocultural and subjective aspects of the nature of science (NOS) as a way to accomplish a more nuanced science teaching in Swedish compulsory school. The teachers ( N = 6) took part in a longitudinal study on NOS and NOS teaching that spanned 3 years. The data consists of recorded and transcribed focus group discussions from all 3 years. In the analysis, the transcripts were searched for teachers' suggestions of issues, relevant for teaching in compulsory school, as well as opportunities and challenges connected to the teaching of these issues. The results of the analysis show that (a) the number of suggested issues increased over the years, (b) teachers' ways of contextualizing the issues changed from general and unprecise to more tightly connected to socio-scientific or scientific contexts, and (c) the number of both opportunities and challenges related to NOS teaching increased over the years. The most evident changes occurred from the beginning of year 2 when the focus group discussions became more closely directed towards concrete teaching activities. Tensions between the opportunities and challenges are discussed as well as how these can be met, and made use of, in science teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature of science (NOS) has for a long time been regarded as a key component in science teaching. Much research has focused on students' and teachers' views of NOS, while less attention has been paid to teachers' perspectives on NOS teaching. This article focuses on in-service science teachers' ways of talking about NOS and NOS teaching, e.g. what they talk about as possible and valuable to address in the science classroom, in Swedish compulsory school. These teachers ( N = 12) are, according to the national curriculum, expected to teach NOS, but have no specific NOS training. The analytical framework described in this article consists of five themes that include multiple perspectives on NOS. The results show that teachers have less to say when they talk about NOS teaching than when they talk about NOS in general. This difference is most obvious for issues related to different sociocultural aspects of science. Difficulties in-and advantages of-NOS teaching, as put forth by the teachers, are discussed in relation to traditional science teaching, and in relation to teachers' perspectives on for which students science teaching will be perceived as meaningful and comprehensible. The results add to understanding teachers' reasoning when confronted with the idea that NOS should be part of science teaching. This in turn provides useful information that can support the development of NOS courses for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swedish preschool educational tradition is based on a holistic view where care, play, learning, and teaching are intertwined. Previous research argues for the need to develop teaching approaches that simultaneously direct attention towards content and children’s perspectives. The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how preschool children’s agency is supported in activities that integrate play and science, with a special focus on the use of representations. The empirical data consists of video-observations of teachers’ and children’s (2-4-years) participation in activities that integrate play and science. In the analysis, the theoretical framework of Play-Responsive Early Childhood Education and Care (PRECEC) is used. Here, teaching and play are understood as a mutual activity. In these mutual activities, teachers and children are constantly shifting back and forth between as if (fantasy) and as is (reality) (Pramling et al., 2019). Three narratives have been constructed that exemplify how children’s agency is supported in activities that integrate play and science. These narratives highlight how children’s initiatives are given space to evolve and enrich both play and science; how children’s initiatives become valuable for teachers’ opportunities to trigger and further explore science content and; how teacher’s constantly must respond to children’s different initiatives and balance between them. Implications for preschool teachers and preschool practice are discussed in relation to children’s agency in science teaching in preschool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]