Investigation of Pre-service Science Teachers' Cognitive Structures and Visual Images of Scientist and Engineer Perception

Abstract

This study examines pre-service science teachers' cognitive structures and visual images toward the perception of scientists and engineers. The study group of the research consists of 195 students studying at a state university in Ankara in the 2023-2024 academic year. The survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. The study data were collected with an open-ended question about scientist and engineer, a Word Association Test (WAT) related to the concepts of scientist and engineer, and a draw a scientist and draw an engineer test. The data obtained from the study were analyzed using content analysis. Participants mainly explained the differences between scientists and engineers in their working environments. The pre-service teachers associated scientist with the word laboratory (n=140) the most and obsessive (n=8) the least. They associated engineer with the word machine (n=101) and physics (n=8). In the drawings, scientists were mainly depicted as wearing lab coats, having messy hair, working in the laboratory with experimental materials, being sad or thoughtful, wearing glasses, and being male. Notably, pre-service teachers partially eliminate traditional ideas as the grade level increases. On the other hand, the engineer is mainly seen as a man wearing a work apron or daily clothes, with smooth hair, beardless, working in an open area with construction materials or motor vehicles, partially happy and thoughtful, and wearing a helmet/hat. Whether the grade level increase changed their mind about this idea is not determined.