A Guy With Messed Up Hair and a Lab Coat: The Nature of Science, Scientists and Science Teaching With Preservice Early Childhood Teachers

The COVID‐19 pandemic highlighted the importance of science in addressing significant social and health challenges, while also revealing widespread misconceptions about the nature of science (NOS) and its underlying principles. Recent conceptualizations describe NOS as grounded in observations of the natural world, evolving, creative, and subjective, which is different from the experience of many adults who were taught that science was objective and that knowledge was gained through the scientific method. Thus, preservice teacher (PST) education courses offer opportunities to understand NOS more deeply and to develop instructional practices that support it. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to examine how 21 early childhood PSTs enrolled in a STEM‐focused science methods course conceptualized science, scientists, and science teaching. Data were collected through diagnostic reflections, end‐of‐semester written responses, and two drawing tasks: the Draw‐a‐Scientist Test (DAST) and the Draw‐a‐Science‐Teacher Test (DASTT‐C). Data were analyzed using structural, axial, and thematic coding in Dedoose, with drawings scored using established rubrics. Findings reveal that while PSTs moved beyond stereotypical images of scientists, many still envisioned traditional science classrooms. The study highlights the importance of explicitly addressing NOS and instructional beliefs in teacher preparation to foster more inquiry‐based, student‐centered science teaching.