Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers’ Conception of Living and Non-Living Things in a Ghanaian College of Education

Abstract

The study examined pre-service teachers’ conception of living and non-living things and their classification using a case study design.  The mixed method approach was employed for this study. Census sampling technique was initially used to collect data from 70 participants who complete a questionnaire. Afterwards, purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from 12 of the initially sampled participants using a semi-structured interview guide. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that 72% and 93% of the participants had appropriate scientific conception of living and non-living things respectively, as they were able to correctly classify and justify their classifications of items provided. The findings further revealed that at least 28% and 7% of the participants still had intuitive conception of living and non-living things respectively as demonstrated in their inability to classify seven living things and eight non-living things correctly. The educational implication is that Science Educators need to be aware of the intuitive conceptions that pre-service teachers’ have about living and non-living things in order to employ appropriate teaching techniques to address the underlying misconceptions during instruction. This will enable pre-service teachers to form sound conceptual understanding of living and non-living things as conventionally known in the scientific community.