Science and technology teachers? views on nature of science and the reflexions of these views on classroom activities

Understanding science teachers? views about the nature of science are important in several aspects. It is essential to know teachers? views in order to form necessary background for science education, determine the content for in service training, and prepare suitable contexts for more efficient applications of recently developed science and technology programs by mentioning the current teacher profile.In this study, views of science and technology teachers on the nature of science and the reflections of these views to their classroom practice are examined in a multiple case study. First of all, teachers? views are determined by administering a survey questionnaire entitled Views on Nature of Science (VNS) to 74 science and technology teachers who are working at various primary schools in one of the big cities of Turkey. After this stage, 5 of the teachers are selected by purposeful sampling, and their classroom activities are examined during a unit called ?the particulate nature of matter?. Semi-structured interviews have been made in order to verify and understand their views in detail.As a result of the analysis, it is found that science and technology teachers have naive views on many dimensions of the nature of science. Besides, it is concluded that teachers? views do not have any impact on their classroom activities. It can be mentioned that curriculum, the examination system, and students? and parents? expectations are the most important factors which determine participating teachers? classroom activities.