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A Victorian government science specialist initiative addressed this by funding professional learning programs for schools. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), the study analyzes interviews with 17 science specialists from eleven schools, identifies seven stages in role trajectories over time, and discusses affordances, constraints, and challenges. Results emphasize community influence in enacting the science specialism.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-changing-roles-of-science-specialists-during-a-capacity-building-program-for-primary-school-science/593730/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-changing-roles-of-science-specialists-during-a-capacity-building-program-for-primary-school-science/593730.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"4398046744996","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What problem does the initiative target in primary science education?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The study addresses evidence that primary school teachers often lack confidence and competence in teaching science, affecting students’ development of science concepts and skills.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the paper analyze changes in science specialist roles over time?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It uses cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) to analyze interview transcripts and determine perceived and enacted roles across seven stages representing trajectories.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Which factors are highlighted as important for enacting the science specialism?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The analysis finds that community influence plays a key role in how the science specialist role is implemented over time, along with specific affordances, constraints, and challenges.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},593730,1792188560,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":66,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":138,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},4398046744996,"Australian Journal of Teacher Education  \n\n| Volume 42 | Issue 3 | Article 1 |\n| --- | --- |\n\n2017  \nThe Changing Roles of Science Specialists during a Capacity Building Program for Primary School Science  \nSandra Herbert  \nDeakin University, [sandra.herbert@deakin.edu.au](sandra.herbert@deakin.edu.au)  \nLihua Xu Deakin University  \nLeissa Kelly Deakin University  \nRecommended Citation  \nHerbert, S., Xu, L., & Kelly, L. (2017). The Changing Roles of Science Specialists during a Capacity Building Program for Primary School Science. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42 (3).  \n[http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n3.1](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n3.1)  \nThis Journal Article is posted at Research Online.  \n[http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss3/1](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol42/iss3/1)  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nThe Changing Roles of Science Specialists during a Capacity  \nBuilding Program for Primary School Science  \nSandra Herbert  \nLihua Xu  \nLeissa Kelly  \nDeakin University  \nAbstract: Science education starts at primary school. Yet, recent  \nresearch shows primary school teachers lack confidence and  \ncompetence in teaching science (Prinsley & Johnston, 2015). A  \nVictorian state government science specialist initiative  \nresponded to this concern by providing professional learning  \nprograms to schools across Victoria. Drawing on cultural  \nhistorical activity theory (CHAT), this paper reports the analysis  \nof transcripts of interviews with 17 science specialists from  \neleven schools. It presents the various perceived and enacted  \nscience specialist roles, and how they changed over time. The  \nCHAT analysis of the transcripts revealed seven different stages  \ndescribing trajectories of the science specialism. The variation  \nin the trajectories indicate the importance of the influence of the  \ncommunity in the enactment of the science specialism.  \nAffordances, constraints and challenges of implementing the  \nscience specialist role are discussed.  \nIntroduction  \nDeclining student numbers continuing science subjects at secondary school impactson the number pursuing careers in science (Tytler, 2007; Fitzgerald, Dawson & Hackling, 2013) and influences Australia’s global competitiveness in science and technological growth areas (Chubb, 2013) . Prinsley and Johnston (2015) contended that the quality of science education received at primary school is a contributing factor in this decline. The Victorian state government’s response to this long-standing international issue regarding science in primary schools (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011; Osborne, Simon & Collins, 2003) was to fund primary school science specialists intending that these specialists would build capacity for the teaching of science within their schools.  \nThe Primary Science Specialist (PrimSS) professional learning initiative provided two years of funding and training of generalist teachers in selected primary schools. These teachers were expected to lead improved teaching of science within their schools through a range of responsibilities, some consistent with the Specialist Guidelines (Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), 2015) view of specialist area teachers who have expert knowledge in a subject area and are responsible for the design and delivery of curricula in this area. Other responsibilities of teachers in PrimSS may be considered outside the traditional specialist role, such as working intensively and effectively with other generalist teachers in their school to build capacity in science teaching (Campbell & Chittleborough, 2014) . Nevertheless in this paper they will be referred as ‘science specialists’.  \nThis study investigates the changing roles ofa group of primary teachers participating  \nVol 42, 3, March 2017 1  \nAustralian Journal of Teacher Education  \nin this Victorian Government professional development initiative. The aim of this paper is to identify and explain the pathways undertaken in each s","cbCaiaI33AipIQkJ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaI33AipIQkJ","pdf",634628,22,"English","# Introduction\n# Background","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the initiative target in primary science education?\",\"answer\":\"The study addresses evidence that primary school teachers often lack confidence and competence in teaching science, affecting students’ development of science concepts and skills.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper analyze changes in science specialist roles over time?\",\"answer\":\"It uses cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) to analyze interview transcripts and determine perceived and enacted roles across seven stages representing trajectories.\"},{\"question\":\"Which factors are highlighted as important for enacting the science specialism?\",\"answer\":\"The analysis finds that community influence plays a key role in how the science specialist role is implemented over time, along with specific affordances, constraints, and challenges.\"}]","The Changing Roles of Science Specialists during a Capacity Building Program for Primary School Science | PDF",1792077808,55]