Pre-service teachers’ attempts at debating contemporary issues in science education: A case study from Botswana

This paper constitutes an attempt to explore trends, issues and challenges that emerge when three different cohorts of pre-service teachers debate contemporary issues in science education at the University of Botswana. Apart from the author's experience of teaching the course, the impetus for this study also comes from a growing interest in the contemporary literature in the need for teachers who, in the context of globalization and knowledge economy, are ‘self-reforming’ through continually addressing the key issues of their profession. Unfortunately, the current situation is such that this burden of interrogation falls heaviest on teachers, despite their lack of skills in undertaking the task.The study suggests that pre-service teachers were generally reluctant to debate issues outside the realms of their experiences; instead, they made ‘parallel contributions’ that generally lacked critical reflection and thorough analysis. This makes it a challenge to assess whether the pre-service teachers have developed the requisite conceptual clarity and skills for handling contemporary issues. However, further research needs to focus on their learning strategies to help to unravel the mystique behind these ‘parallel contributions’ – this may help us to understand the strategies adopted by pre-service teachers, and also what they make of our instructional methods.

► The study suggests that pre-service teachers were generally reluctant to debate issues outside the realms of their experiences.
► Students were probably not predisposed to taking ownership of, or even contributing to, their learning and sharing in the responsibility for enhancing it.
► The students’ approach clouded their proficiency in exercising critical reflection during the course.
► The production of teachers for the so-called ‘knowledge economy’ is a multi-disciplinary capacity-building concern.