Student Teachers’ Perception of Science Teaching in Croatia

In the Republic of Croatia, all education-related documents, reforms, and changes at all levels of education rest on a constructivist approach to learning and teaching. The initial teacher education system should take responsibility for introducing new methodological scenarios, didactic design of spaces, and equipment that are compatible with contemporary learning theories and support multiple learning styles. This paper aimed to identify and compare the perceptions of teacher education students in the Republic of Croatia regarding the teaching of Science. Students’ perceptions in the academic year 2022/23 were compared to the academic year 2011/12 when the research was first conducted. This paper included teacher education students in their 2nd (N=366) and 5th year (N=386) of study from three Croatian universities. Students’ perception of teaching was assessed through drawings, the analysis of which indicates the students’ self-perception as teachers during the teaching of Science and reveals their preconceptions about teaching and learning. The results show that 2nd-year students are more likely to perceive themselves in teacher-centered environment. Furthermore, 2022/23 generation students are more likely to perceive themselves in teacher-centered environment when compared to students 11 years ago. For 5th-year students, there is no statistically significant difference in the perception of teaching between the 2011/12 generation and the 2022/23 generation. However, when the results are categorized on the continuum of teaching theory, it is evident that 24% more of them perceive themselves to be in teacher-centered classes in 2022/23 and 20% less in student-centered environment as opposed to 11 years ago. Therefore, it is recommended to modernize higher education teaching with new didactic solutions, strategies, and technologies that will help students change their perceptions of teaching and learning, and subsequently implement it once they start working.