Conceptual difficulties pre-service primary teachers have with static electricity

Abstract

Static electricity is the introductory chapter to electricity in all high school and university Physics textbooks. The interpretations of static electricity phenomena are not obvious, even in higher education. This research was conducted to identify the major difficulties which pre-service primary teachers encounter in explaining static electricity. They conducted electrostatic experiments focused on different types of electricity, in the context of an Introductory Physics Laboratory Course. The data were collected through the reports they wrote at the end of the course. The qualitative content analysis method was used in order to analyze the data. The sample, which was a convenient one, consisted of 200 pre-service primary teachers, 170 females and 30 males. The analysis showed that pre-service primary teachers have considerable difficulty conceptualizing the microscopic processes – more specifically, charging by induction – that explain these phenomena. The different roles electrons play in conductors and insulators seemed to pose difficulties for pre-service primary teachers. The findings implied an emphasis on microscopic models during macroscopic experimental processes. This could help pre-service primary teachers to understand the role of electrons in conductors and insulators and the different mechanisms involved in different types of charging.