Teacher beliefs and intentions regarding the implementation of science education reform strands

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing teachers' intentions to implement the four strands (inquiry, knowledge, conditions, and applications) of the State of Ohio's (U.S.) Competency Based Science Model. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior was used to examine the influence of three primary constructs (attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) on teachers' intentions to engage in the targeted behaviors. The teachers' salient beliefs for each of the primary constructs were further examined to determine their degree of contribution. Differences between various teacher populations for both intent and the three primary constructs were also investigated. The data were obtained using survey research (N = 800 Ohio teachers, randomly selected and stratified by grade level and state region). Backward solution multiple regression and analysis of variance techniques were used for statistical analyses. Results indicated that the attitude toward the behavior construct held the greatest influence of Ohio teachers' intent to implement all four strands of the science model; several salient beliefs for each of the three constructs significantly contribute to the constructs; and significant differences exist between various teacher populations for both intent and the three constructs. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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