Research into english primary school teachers’ understanding of the concept energy

Interviews‐about‐instances and interviews‐about‐events conducted with an opportunity sample of 20 primary school teachers in England were used to probe the teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the concept energy. A number of statements made by the teachers during the interviews were then incorporated into a survey questionnaire which was given to an opportunity sample of 152 primary school teachers from three English Local Education Authorities. This enabled the prevalence of particular ideas about energy in a much larger sample of teachers to be established. Results of both the interview and survey phases of the research are reported, and discussed in light of a recent increased emphasis on the learning of science concepts in primary schools.