Exploring Prospective Preschool Teachers’ Argumentation Skills on the Greenhouse Effect

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the degree to which prospective preschool teachers can develop arguments regarding the main contributors to the greenhouse effect, the intensity of the phenomenon across the earth’s surface and the consequences of global warming caused by the constant increase of the greenhouse effect. Participants were 93 students (prospective teachers) who had been provided with a number of data in order to be able to articulate claims and to develop reasoning to support them. Students’ argumentation components were categorized according to their content suitability, and relevant paths from data to claims were constructed. Results provide evidence for the capability of students to develop arguments based on the information and data available to them, revealing a number of misunderstandings in relation to the greenhouse effect and insufficient reasoning regarding their argumentation skills. Relevant improvements that could take place in preschool education departments and implications for science education are also discussed.