Science Teacher Agency: How Lived Experiences Are Attended to in Science Education Literature Within a Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Lives of Teachers Roundtable

Abstract

In-service teachers of science work with unique content and pedagogical experiences. Understanding teacher agency in these circumstances will help researchers understand the actions that these teachers take. The purpose of this study was to review how the agency of K-12 in-service teachers of science has been conceptualized in the scientific literature during the period of 2007 - 2018. Informed by grounded theory, we analyzed forty-four peer-reviewed articles, which we located using specific search criteria, and identified that gaps in the research practices of the science education literature have created gaps in the conceptualizations of agency and thus exciting opportunities now exist to expand on both the breadth and depth around the understanding of in-service science teacher agency. Recommendations are addressed.

Authors

• Anica Miller-Rushing, University of Maine at Orono

• Elizabeth Hufnagel, University of Maine