Comparing Academic Performance of Elementary Education Majors in General Education Science Courses

PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320137 March 19, 2025 3 / 15 PLOS ONE Elementary Education Majors in General Education Science Courses having less preparation in science than other content areas and, likely as a result, less confi- dence in their ability to teach science [7,33]. Furthermore, within the content area of science, elementary teachers tend to be more prepared and more confident with the life sciences than with the physical sciences [33–35]. The mismatch between the importance of children learn- ing science and the status of science in schools necessitates better understanding the prepara- tion of elementary teachers to teach science. With almost 90% of elementary teachers identifying as female [36–38], it is not surpris- ing that this low prioritization of science and preference for biology over other physical science matches gender differences observed more broadly. It is well documented that female students are more likely to enroll in, and find belonging in, biology college courses as compared to courses in other STEM fields [39–42]. Further, studies have found that males tend to receive higher grades than females in STEM courses, though findings remain mixed [43–46]. An important part of elementary teachers’ preparation for teaching science includes col- lege science courses, typically completed prior to coursework specifically related to teaching [7,13,26,30,47]. These courses are frequently general education courses, meaning that they include students from a variety of majors and are part of the university requirements to

broaden students’ knowledge [7,16]. An ongoing concern with general education courses for students from all majors is stu- dents’ perception of relevance [18,19,48,49]. Because general education courses are designed for a general audience, it is not immediately obvious how they are related to students’ inter- ests or pursuits [50]. Researchers have explored ways to help general education courses be perceived as more relevant by students, including institution-wide strategies such as improv- ing communication about the purposes of general education [51] or restructuring the general education program [52,53]. More course-specific strategies have also been implemented, like focusing on building community [19] and framing a course for elementary education majors within the context of pedagogy [54]. When students perceive course content as more relevant, they engage more and receive higher grades [55]. When a course is perceived as less relevant, students are less likely to retain the knowledge they learned [56]. Scholars have expressed concern that elementary education majors receive lower grades in general education courses than students in other majors [57,58]. These studies found that elementary education majors had lower grades in general education courses such as biology, English, and sociology. However, such evidence is from many years ago and the most recent research (still decades-old) indicates that elementary education majors did just as well in general education courses as students in other majors [59]. Additionally, these studies tend to rely on small samples.

Such differences, if they persist, could be because general education courses do not meet the needs of elementary education majors. Elementary education majors may not see general education courses as relevant for their personal interests or professional pursuits [18,19], though we are not aware of any research exploring perceptions of the relevance of general education coursework for preservice teachers. One of the leading drivers of perceived rele- vance is the perceived usefulness of the course [18]. Considering the low status of science in schools, it is likely that elementary education majors do not see the importance of developing science content knowledge in general education courses or see how the content taught will be involved in their future work [54]. There could also be other reasons that general education courses may not meet the needs of elementary education majors, including poor pedagogy [60], conflicts arising from elementary teachers’ identities [61], or poor preparation from high school coursework [62]. Because of these concerns, many elementary education programs offer specialized science courses for future teachers as an alternative to general education