The U.S. Landscape of Elementary Teachers’ Science Course Requirements

One of the United States’ higher education system’s most important tasks is properly preparing elementary teachers to teach science. Teachers’ ability to use their science subject matter knowledge (SMK) to effectively develop pedagogical approaches can significantly contribute to their students’ engagement in science and motivation to pursue science-related careers. To date, several studies examine the influences of subject matter knowledge on teachers’ pedagogical strategies. Although there are still contradictions regarding those influences, providing teachers with adequate preparation in science SMK and science pedagogical knowledge is crucial. To understand how elementary teachers are currently prepared in science SMK, this study examines degree requirements across 223 colleges and universities in the U.S. to determine the number and type of general education science content courses required for candidates to complete their elementary education degrees. Our findings indicated that while many U.S. universities’ undergraduate general education science course requirements have increased in terms of required numbers of science credit hours since 2009, the related pedagogical science content knowledge and science content knowledge of pre-service elementary teachers has not also increased. Thus, we can surmise that increasing the required quantity of general education science courses does not correlate to increased science content knowledge, or increased science teaching confidence or competence, at least among undergraduate per-service elementary teachers.