Fast and focused: A targeted approach to changing pre-service teachers’ images of scientists
Fast and focused: A targeted approach to changing pre-service teachers’ images of scientists

Summary/Abstract: Stereotypical imagery of scientists is detrimental to effective and inclusive science education. Many elementary pre-service teachers often hold onto these images, creating an unconscious bias limiting their effectiveness to both teach science content and discourage some groups from entering the scientific field. Proactive and targeted interventions could help mitigate this bias and provide a more inclusive perception of actual scientists. This one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study investigated changes in the perceptions of elementary pre-service teachers regarding scientists. Thirty-three participants completed the Draw-A-Scientist Test before and after a 25-minute intervention aimed at challenging stereotypical views of scientists. The Draw-A-Scientist Test(DAST) checklist assessed participants' depictions of scientists. The results showed a significant reduction in stereotypical imagery post-intervention: 30 participants depicted less stereotypical scientists, while three showed no change. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a significant difference in DAST scores (Mdn = 2 posttest vs. Mdn = 7 pretest, z = -4.805, p <.001). These findings suggest that brief, targeted interventions can effectively alter the naive conceptions of scientists held by elementary pre-service teachers. Implementing such succinct and focused interventions in educator preparation programs may foster more inclusive representations of scientists, potentially inspiring diverse student populations to envision themselves as scientists. This research provides a foundation for promoting accurate and varied representations of scientists in education without the need for significant curricular modifications. The findings of this study indicate that once deficits are identified, well-designed, brief, and targeted interventions can alter elementary pre-service teachers’ perceptions, setting the foundation for accurate and inclusive science instruction at the elementary level.

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