EXAMINING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG TURKISH PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, SCIENTIFIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS AND SCIENCE TEACHING EFFICACY BELIEFS

This study was conducted to examine the relationships among pre-service science teachers' (PSTs') teaching and learning conceptions, scientific epistemological beliefs and science teaching efficacy beliefs. 310 Turkish PSTs from different regions of the country participated in the study. Three different instruments were validated by confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that participants' constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning promoted sophisticated science related epistemologies. Sophisticated epistemologies, to some extent, also contributed participants' science teaching efficacy beliefs. Certain assumptions were not supported by the results which pointed out that curricular reform in teacher education system met expectations partly. Implications were presented considering the results.