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This case study aimed to investigate teachers' reflections on the transfer of makerspace activities into classrooms. Primary and secondary STEM teachers participated in a Continuous Professional Development programme about makerspaces. Data were collected in the form of written reflections and semi-structured interviews after the teachers conducted makerspace activities in their classes. A thematic approach was used for data analysis. The results showed that teachers identified possibilities: "Connections to learning objectives in STEM subjects"; "Motivating and engaging students"; "Stimulating collaboration"; "Stimulating creativity"; and challenges: "Problem of assessment"; "Lack of digital competence"; "Lack of high-tech equipment." However, the teachers did not reflect upon the cultural, ontological, and epistemological differences between makerspaces and formal schooling. Thus, we argue that it is difficult 'to eat the cake and have it too', i.e. to fully reconcile both the maker-culture and demands of formal schooling. Rather, we suggest three ways to connect makerspace culture with formal education.

Today, many technology teachers in compulsory technology education teach design and design processes using a digital design tool, such as computer aided design (CAD). Teaching involving CAD is a relatively new element and not very much is known about what teachers intend pupils to learn in compulsory education. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate technology teachers' experiences in order to gain insight into their teaching practices involving CAD. A phenomenographic approach was used and twelve semi-structured interviews with lower secondary technology teachers were conducted. The interviews were analyzed and categories of description were hierarchically organized into the phenomenographic outcome space. The results show that teachers have different experiences of the intended learning outcomes when CAD is used in teaching, and four hierarchical categories emerged: (1) Handling the software, (2) Using ready-made models, (3) Manufacturing and creating printed models, and (4) Designing. The four categories describe teaching "to use" CAD and/or "through using" CAD. Further, the hierarchical categories indicate a teaching progression and the categories can be used as a basis for further discussions among teachers, teacher educators and researchers to develop CAD pedagogies within compulsory technology education.

This study explored the function of school leading in the implementation process of education for sustainable development (ESD) in five Swedish schools employing a whole school approach (WSA). A follow-up study design was used, in which schools that had initiated an ESD project in 2016 were subsequently visited twice for interviews with principals during the project and after it was finalized. The theory of practice architectures in combination with the concept of school improvement capacity was used as the theoretical framework in the analysis. The study showed how school leading should be about enhancing the local school's capacity to improve. It also showed how specific practice architectures prefigured a WSA to ESD and how school leading in this context was about arranging--or orchestrating--practice architectures in ways that enabled such an approach. The issues of time and endurance were pivotal. Based on the empirical results from this study and school improvement theory, guidelines were developed that can be used to drive a WSA to ESD process forward through three different school improvement phases: initiation, implementation, and institutionalization. The limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed.

We present an integrative mixed-methods systematic review of research on laboratory work in secondary-school science education from 1996 to 2019. The aim of the study is to identify important aspects of how to successfully make use of laboratory work as a science-teaching strategy in secondary schools. By engaging teachers, our study uses a demand-driven approach where the users of evidence participate in setting the scope. Of a sample of 11,771 studies, 39 were selected for the integrative analysis. The result is structured around three theoretical frameworks to inform our understanding of what characterises laboratory work, (1) with the aim of developing students' learning of science, (2) with the aim of developing students' learning to do science (science practices), and (3) regarding the level of inquiry that facilitates aims 1 and 2. The results are discussed in the light of previous research reviews, and recommendations for future research are suggested.

This paper outlines the development of a comparative research framework in subject didactics and applies this in the process of analysing the transformations from academic disciplines across different school subjects. The theoretical framework builds on the concepts of 'powerful knowledge' and 'transformation' and 'epistemic quality' within which transformation processes from the classroom to the societal level are considered as 'trajectories of powerful knowledge and epistemic quality'. The framework is used to analyse the findings from recent empirical studies across school subjects that have been reported on in publications arising from the Knowledge and Quality across School Subjects and Teacher Education (KOSS) network. The paper then focuses on analysing the transformations from disciplines across school subjects, given that the first boundary in defining powerful knowledge concerns knowledge that is specialized in both how it is produced and transmitted. To analyse this boundary, the findings from the empirical studies are grouped into broad subject categories. These are then compared with the corresponding disciplines by using the widely cited Biglan classification scheme of academic disciplines in higher education. Finally, we consider the implications for curriculum planning and teacher education policy and reflect on the concept of subject-specific educational content knowledge (SSECK).

Background: Game-based science learning (GBSL) provide an alternative route for learning genetics, but its effects on students' conceptual learning is contested. In this paper we assess the utility, in primary teacher education, of Recal - a game designed to promote participants' learning of key genetic concepts through acting as detectives investigating a case. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyse and compare teacher students' learning of genetics through the game, and both their attitudes towards and experiences of it. Tests were conducted in Spanish and Swedish contexts to assess its potential utility in contrasting cultural and educational contexts to obtain indications of the potential breadth of its application. Samples: Participants included 120 pre-service teacher students from a university in north-eastern Spain and 51 from a university in western Sweden. Design and methods: The research involved an intervention, in which students played the game, and assessment of its efficacy by questionnaires designed to investigate students' knowledge of genetics before and after the game, their expectations and experience of it, and their satisfaction with it. The results were analysed statistically. Results: The game appeared to enhance both Spanish and Swedish participants' knowledge of genetics, and they reportedly found it both educationally beneficial and engaging. It was also assessed in terms of the following characteristics of GBSL, based on experiential data: contextualisation, authenticity, collaboration, problem-solving, guided paths and competition. Conclusion: The results clearly indicate that the game has utility in different countries and educational contexts. The article discusses how the six characteristics of GBSL facilitate or hinder learning, and implications (for educational professionals and researchers) of the findings.

The aim of this study is to define epigenetic literacy and describe how it can be included in school biology. Epigenetics is a new field of research in biology with abundant societal consequences and conceptual implications on how genetics is understood. Epigenetics explains how genes are regulated, thereby clarifying cell differentiation, and providing an understanding of how the environment interacts with genes. Students are bound to encounter epigenetic knowledge and applications related to issues such as health, food, and exercise in the media and their everyday lives. Consequently, there is a need to develop epigenetic literacy. Nevertheless, epigenetics is missing in biology curricula and is almost unknown among teachers and students. Research on epigenetics in science education is scarce, and we do not know what and how to teach. Therefore, we conducted a policy Delphi study with a panel of experts to define an epigenetic literacy framework for teaching in secondary education in relation to Robert's Vision I and Vision II perspectives on epigenetic literacy. Participants were 41 recognized international experts representing 11 countries and five areas of expertise. The experts suggested that epigenetics should be introduced in the lower secondary genetics course (students aged 13-15 years), but also addressed in other relevant areas of biology. The study generated six content themes: "epigenetics as a metaphor"; "epigenetics connecting nature with nurture"; "epigenetics as a dynamic process"; "epigenetic mechanisms"; "epigenetics and inheritance"; and "epigenetics and nature of science," and five sociocultural themes for contextualization: "epigenetics and lifestyle"; "epigenetics and diseases"; "epigenetics and ethics"; "epigenetics and policies"; and "epigenetics and forensics." Taken together, these themes constitute the epigenetic literacy framework. Further, we uncover divergent meanings in the expert panel--as is typical of policy Delphi studies--and connect the framework to genetic literacy and learning progressions in genetics education.

In secondary technology education, models of artifacts, systems and processes, visualized and simulated through digital tools (digital models) are a relatively new element. Technology teachers teach digital models to meet syllabus criteria of digital competence, applicable to for instance problem solving and documentation using digital tools. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning how teachers use digital models in their teaching, what their intentions are, and what content they choose. It is known, though, that teachers' experiences influence the teaching. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate teachers' experiences of teaching digital models in compulsory school, to contribute to more knowledge of teaching in this area. This study takes a phenomenological lifeworld approach, and 12 semi-structured interviews with lower secondary technology teachers form the empirical data. The data were analyzed thematically and the results are four themes of experiencing the teaching of digital models, indicating that technology teachers teach with different aims and purposes: "Enhancing and integrating other subjects," "Visualizing technology to the pupils," "Enabling digital modelling," and "Preparing pupils for the future." Further, the results also indicate that the content and methods of teaching differ and that teachers did not experience digital models as one single idea but as an amalgam of multiple ideas. These findings can be used as a basis for further research and development of teaching concerning digital models.

The speed of development of biotechnology within agriculture, industry, and medicine has changed our lives, and we need a biotechnological literacy to understand it. This implies that teachers in primary schools need to be biotechnologically literate in order to educate future generations. The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish pre-service primary school teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards biotechnology and contextualize the results by comparing them with a corresponding group of Spanish teachers. Data was collected using the established questionnaire instrument Biotech XXI and analyzed statistically. The findings demonstrate that Swedish pre-service primary school teachers have knowledge gaps relating to the basic genetic concepts that underpin biotechnology, although they are aware of biotechnological applications. Their attitudes are quite positive towards biotechnological applications in health, but less so to buying and using genetically modified products. Higher levels of knowledge were correlated with more positive attitudes, indicating an attitudinal basis for expanding the knowledge of and teaching practices for biotechnology among primary teachers. The level of knowledge and attitudes in the Swedish sample were similar to those of the Spanish teachers, suggesting a similar situation may be prevalent in many countries. The results indicate a need to reconsider the science curricula within pre-service primary school teacher training programs in order to better prepare primary teachers for teaching biotechnological literacy.

The present study explores how school improvement in combination with a teacher professional development (TPD) project influenced the implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) in five Swedish schools, when employing a whole school approach. Interviews were conducted with three teachers from each school. Shulman and Shulman's four forms of capital for capacity building were used as a framework for the data analysis. The impact of the project on the schools' pedagogical activities varied considerably between the schools. The transformative potential in ESD was realized to a greater extent in the schools characterized by high levels of moral capital -- i.e. trust -- than in the schools characterized by more individual and traditional ways of working. Three general conclusions concerning ESD implementation are drawn: (1) Prior to launching a whole school project for ESD, it is desirable to make an inventory of the capacity building capital at participating schools, and to identify contextual factors constituting external pressure on the building of capital. (2) The school improvement project and the TPD need to be locally adjusted to the available capital. (3) A strategy for adapting the project to the various external pressures needs to be developed.

This longitudinal quantitative study investigated teachers' development of self-efficacy and teaching practices relating to education for sustainable development (ESD) in four compulsory schools in a Swedish municipality. The teachers participated in a professional development program over three school years designed to support them in implementing ESD. The program was based on five seminars that supported teachers to discuss and experiment with the principles, complexities and challenges of ESD. Data was collected at five different time points strategically planned at key moments in the program, using a questionnaire including scales measuring teachers' self-efficacy for ESD and their self-reported ESD practices. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to follow the teachers evolution across a time span of about three years. Results show that the teachers' self-efficacy was boosted early in the program, but fell back to initial levels after confrontation with practice. Through further experimentation in practice, the teachers' self-efficacy increased back to the initial level toward the end of the program. Furthermore, teachers started self-reporting ESD practices as the program progressed, and the correlation between self-efficacy for ESD and ESD practices grew. These results highlight the importance of providing teachers with long-term opportunities for bringing ESD into their own educational practice. The results also caution against using self-efficacy as an outcome measure in short-term professionalization initiatives.

This article centers on a local school reform project aimed at implementing a transformative approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The study investigates the project in terms of how the design criteria of a continuous professional development program and critical factors of the implementation process influenced the actual teaching practices. Data were collected through interviews with 15 teachers from five schools, and a thematic analysis was conducted. The results showed that the local school reform had limited effect. "Trust" between school actors, "strategic management," and "reflexive collaboration" appeared to be the most important enablers of transferring the reform agenda into teaching practice. "Skepticism," "ambiguous management," and "local contexts" were identified as obstacles, hampering the intended change. A concluding recommendation for implementing transformation oriented ESD through local school reforms and professional development is to add a novel and threefold design criterion to the existing criteria, namely that of "creating and continuously negotiating a shared vision and building trust."

This study investigates the different arguments put forward by Swedish upper secondary students on the interconnectedness of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development (SD). The aim is to study the diversity in views among students in order to find out whether this can be used as a resource in a holistic and pluralistic approach to ESD. The study design was based on a two-step process in which the first step was to identify students representing four different, broadly coherent, views on the interconnections between sustainability dimensions, with a specific focus on the role of the economy in SD. Thereafter, focus group interviews were undertaken with the selected groups of students representing the four different views. The findings indicate a diversity of arguments in discussions of SD and the potential that this plurality brings for perspective shifting. Moreover, the economic dimension appears as central to promoting discussions that aim to examine the overall interconnectedness of sustainability dimensions. A further conclusion is that omitting the economic dimension in ESD risks excluding the core of students' ideas of how SD may be realized.

In this article, we explore the concept of 'powerful knowledge' which, from a curriculum studies perspective, refers to the aspects of content knowledge towards which teaching should be oriented. We then consider how the concept of 'powerful knowledge' can be developed and operationalized as a research framework within studies in subject-specific didactics across the curriculum by relating it to the analytical concept of 'transformation'. Transformation is perceived in this case as an integrative process in which content knowledge is transformed into knowledge that is taught and learned through various transformation processes both outside and within the educational system. We argue that powerful knowledge cannot be identified based on the discipline alone, but needs to consider transformation processes and be empirically explored. A variety of theories and frameworks developed within the European research tradition of didactics are described as ways to study transformation processes related to powerful knowledge at different institutional levels as well as between different subjects and disciplines. A comparative research framework related to subject-specific education is proposed around three research questions.

Background: Previous studies have investigated effects of out-of-school STEM activities aimed at stimulating children's interest in science with positive results. However, research has not discussed the reasons why such activities are successful. Purpose: In this study, we address this gap by investigating which factors children themselves identified as interesting when they visited events at an out-of-school activity named The Children's University. Sample: Children aged 8-12 participated in the study. Altogether, there were 353 children involved in the data collection. Design and methods: A mixed method design was used, including a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews in which children's self-reported experiences were collected. Likert scale questions in the questionnaire were analysed based on descriptive statistics. The open-ended questions and data from the interviews were categorized by content analysis and analytically interpreted through 'the Ecological framework for understanding learning across places and pursuits'. Results: The children were positive about their visit, and these utterances could mainly be related to the development of the individuals' interest and knowledge according to the Ecological framework. We identified two new factors influencing student's interest in STEM in out-of-school activities: appreciating the spectacular and learning; verifying two factors of importance previously suggested in the literature: appreciating the content and the learning environment. Conclusions: The study highlights the specific factors the children actually appreciated from their visits to out-of-school activities, which could be of interest for stakeholders arranging different kinds of STEM events promoting informal learning. The content in the activities is important as well as spectacular features. To have the opportunity to learn something new in an environment that is conducive to learning is also of importance for children.

The aim of the article is to deepen the knowledge of progressivism and how it was manifested in practice in Swedish secondary schools from a teacher perspective before it was prescribed in policy during the reforms of the 1950s. In the current educational debate, progressivism is blamed by some for being the root of a permissive style of education in decline that no longer provides any knowledge to students, and regarded by others as the starting point for the modern form of democratic schooling. The question we pursue is in what way progressive teaching practice existed before policy. We do that by investigating teacher narratives describing their own teaching practices found in a historical archive from 1946. Hence, rather than looking at the policy level as in most studies, we are unpacking the black box of progressive teaching. Through thematic analysis, we investigate 209 secondary teacher narratives from teachers of History, Biology and Mother tongue. We found that the theme of student participation was very frequently reported in 76% of the accounts, while student interaction (33%) and extended classroom (37%) were somewhat less reported. Hence, our study shows that progressive teaching existed in different ways before it appeared in policy.

Young students have raised their voices in debates on what action for sustainable development (SD) is necessary. Nevertheless, research that gives voice to 10 to 13-year-olds while looking into SD issues in all their complexity of interrelated environmental, social, and socio-economic perspectives, is scarce. This study aims to give voice to these youngsters, asking them directly how they suggest they can contribute to SD. Building on the concepts of action and SD, this qualitative study reports on early adolescents' own suggestions for action. Participants suggested direct, indirect, individual, and collective actions both in the private and public sphere. Their actions targeted SD issues with interconnections between areas concerning the planet, peace, people, partnership, and to some extent also prosperity. We compare our results with findings of earlier studies to further the discussion on how young people feel they can and want to contribute to SD.

The aim of this study is to investigate students' meaning–making of multiple visual representations of epigenetics at different levels of biological organisation, and to discern what visual aspects of the multiple visual representations might influence students' reasoning. Adopting an exploratory approach, we analysed how students made meaning of visually communicated epigenetics phenomena while pointing at and reasoning about the multiple visual representations as part of semi-structured focus groups. We investigated students' meaning-making of the multiple visual representations by analysing their indications through physical pointing and accompanying verbal utterances. The analysis revealed meaning-making and the nature of linking between levels of organisation in four distinct patterns, namely intra horizontal linking, inter horizontal linking, one level vertical linking and two level vertical linking. In addition, five different visual characteristics of the multiple visual representations emerged as influencing students' reasoning while linking between different organisation levels: multiple visual representations, salient visual features, analogous visual features, familiar visual elements, and textual adjuncts. The study shows that multiple visual representations at different levels of organisation can support students' meaning-making of epigenetics, indicating that this way of communicating can be transferable to other biological domains. Potential implications for future research and teaching practice are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of insect biodiversity is a major global sustainability issue that is highly relevant to science education. Science education can support and develop learners' competence to take actions to sustain insect biodiversity and empower learners to deal actively with this sustainability issue. However, we currently lack an instrument to assess these aspects of individual competence. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing the Self-Perceived Action Competence for Insect Conservation scale (SPACIC). This scale allows for investigating learners' action competence by focusing on self-perceived knowledge, confidence, and willingness to take insect conservation actions. The scale is grounded in theory and face-validated by external experts. The piloting with 180 secondary school students showed a good quality of the instrument in terms of reliability and validity, as the reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analysis show. The SPACIC scale is applicable to various formal and informal educational settings. Applying the scale can yield information about the effects of educational approaches and inform learners, educators, and researchers about changes in self-perceived competence. In this way, the SPACIC scale can contribute to the evaluation and design of educational approaches and eventually boost learners' development into becoming active environmental citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the curricula in various countries, teachers in the subject areas of science, social science and language are often expected to collaborate on cross-curricular issues such as sustainable development (SD) in the 9-year compulsory school. This study is based in Sweden and investigates teachers' teaching traditions. The overall aim of this study is to understand what educational content teacher teams can offer students through cross-curricular collaborations. The specific aim in Part 1 of this article is to discern the distribution of teachers' teaching traditions from different subject areas. Part 2 offers a reflection tool for teachers and teacher teams to discern teaching traditions. The results show that teachers from different subject areas stress different yet complimentary aspects of environmental and sustainability (ESE) teaching. A fair distribution of teaching traditions in a teacher team will offer students better learning opportunities to develop and enhance their action competence for sustainable development.

Throughout the world, the educational system is expected to deal with issues regarding sustainability and to promote pro-environmental behaviours and attitudes. This study investigates attitudes towards nature and the environment among 1,109 teachers and student teachers in Sweden and France, using the 2 factor Model of Environmental Values (2-MEV). The results imply that in both Sweden and France, teachers and student teachers hold a prevailingly ecocentric attitude, as opposed to an anthropocentric attitude, which possibly indicates a predominantly positive approach towards the environment and environmental education. Comparisons between the countries show, however, that the Swedish teachers and student teachers hold a more anthropocentric attitude than the teachers and student teachers in the French sample.

In many countries' policy documents and curricula, teachers in the subject areas of science, social science and language are encouraged to collaborate on cross-curricular issues such as sustainable development (SD). This study is conducted in secondary schools (compulsory years 7-9) in Sweden and investigates the similarities and differences in the responses of ten teacher groups (forty-three teachers in total) to questions about their teaching contributions in their own subject areas to education for sustainable development (ESD). The overall aim is to understand how teachers of these three subject areas can contribute to cross-curricular teaching in teacher teams in the context of ESD. This is done by analysing the group responses from data collected in group discussions concerning the teaching dimensions "what" (content), "how" (methods) and "why" (purposes) in relation to ESD. We first analyse the teacher group responses and arguments regarding their contribution to ESD teaching from each subject area separately. Thereafter, we comparatively analyse how the different subject areas' contributions overlap or complement each other in a potential collaborative ESD teaching. The results show that teachers from different subject areas stress different yet complimentary dimensions of teaching and perspectives of ESD. The implications for cross-curricular teaching in ESD are also discussed.

This study contributes to an operationalization of the concept of action competence for sustainability through the theoretical development and empirical validation of a new 12-item Likert-scale questionnaire: "the Self-Perceived Action Competence for Sustainability Questionnaire," SPACS-Q. Other scales in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) typically measure concepts such as pro-environmental and sustainability attitudes and behaviors, and therefore do not fully cover the concept of action competence for sustainability. An action differs from a 'mere' behavior in that it is voluntary and targeted at bringing about change, which is the overarching goal of ESE. We define action competence as a latent capacity among individuals to act sustainably. We introduce a novel scale measuring this seminal concept. Totally, 614 Swedish adolescents aged 12-19 participated in this study. The scale includes three latent subconstructs: i) knowledge of action possibilities, ii) confidence in one's own influence, and iii) the willingness to act. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability measures and investigation of convergent validity reveal a questionnaire instrument with excellent psychometric quality. We put forward that the SPACS-Q is a novel and theory-driven, empirically reliable and valid, instrument, and encourage fellow researchers to use the SPACS-Q when investigating people's action competence for sustainability in various contexts.

The concept of Action Competence (AC) has been interpreted in different ways in various domains of the educational sciences. Given the rising scholarly attention to AC, these diverse interpretations are problematic because they hinder a common understanding of the concept among scholars. We unravel the interpretation of AC as a competence of people versus that of an educational approach. We call the latter education for sustainable development (ESD), and discuss the approach as predominantly being a subjectification model of education. Furthermore, we offer an updated and refined generic definition of action competence as a competence of people. To this end, we develop an ecology of psychological concepts that underpin AC. We present a theoretical perspective based on the concepts of "action" and "competence", for stronger consideration of AC as a competence of people. We relate this generic concept of AC to concepts such as commitment, passion, knowledge, and self-efficacy for solving controversial problems. Finally, we introduce the specific concept of "Action Competence in Sustainable Development" (ACiSD) to articulate the competence of people to engage in solving sustainability issues.