Is heat generated from a crematorium an appropriate source for district heating? Student teachers' reasoning about a complex environmental issue |
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| Authors: | Margareta Ekborg |
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| Institution: | Malm? University , Sweden |
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| Abstract: | This paper reports on a longitudinal study on how science student teachers' reasoning about a complex environmental issue developed through a teacher education programme in mathematics and science for grades 1–7 (ages 7–13). Of special interest was to follow the ways in which student teachers used scientific knowledge in their reasoning. The issue was taken from a newspaper article discussing the use of surplus heat from a crematorium for district heating. A group of 14 student teachers were followed through 2½ years of a teacher education programme, during which they were interviewed three times. The results showed that the student teachers drew upon scientific knowledge only to a limited degree when they were asked to clarify the situation in the article, quickly taking standpoints based upon emotional arguments. Several student teachers experienced a contradiction between science and their emotions. It was also shown that there was a conceptual problem, which could be important for how the student teachers understood the issue, and thereby influenced their decision‐making. |
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