Möjligheter och begränsningar. En kvalitativ studie om biologilärares laborativa undervisning

Abstract

Laboratory work is included in the biology education at upper secondary school and have therefore a central and important role in teaching. The purpose teachers have with laboratory work can vary. Previous studies have indicated that laboratory work is effective for students' knowledge, scientific literacy, and their interest in science. For laboratory work to be effective, it needs to be of high quality and therefore include inquiry. Research indicates that teachers often fail to communicate the purpose and goals of laboratory work. Support and resources are known factors that can affect the laboratory work. This study intends to investigate what purposes teacher has with laboratory work and how teachers experience that support and resources affects the laboratory education. A qualitative interview study has been carried out and the result have been analyzed through a thematic analysis. There were six biology teachers who participated in the study. The results indicates that teachers have several purposes for their laboratory work. They can have cognitive, affective, and psychomotor purposes. The students seemed to have more difficult to understand the underlying theory rather than the practical work. Social interactions are important elements during labs, because of its positive effect on the development of knowledge. The teachers' prerequisites for laboratory teaching vary between the teachers, but they are generally good. For laboratories to be feasible and of high quality, resources and support are necessary. The support and resources that were considered to affect the laboratory work were collegial collaboration, resources, time for laboratory work and experience. It is primarily the school management's task to review and enable good conditions. There is a large variation in the amount of time teachers are allocated to laboratory work and therefore the school management's work for equivalent education is called into question.