Indicators of high-quality PCK & implications for twenty-first-century science education: a systematic literature review

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a critical domain of teacher expertise that enables teachers to transform their content knowledge (CK) into forms accessible and comprehensible to students. Cultivating twenty-first-century scientific literacy in students requires PCK for teaching not only traditional content but also non-traditional content (e.g. actively evolving science, interdisciplinary topics). Yet, it remains unclear what indicators define high-quality PCK, even for traditional science content, let alone for non-traditional content. This systematic review identified and analysed 104 empirical studies that differentiated teachers’ PCK quality, identifying which aspects of PCK (e.g. knowledge domains and components) were examined and which indicators were used to determine quality. The analysis distinguished two broad groups: the first (n = 9) regards CK as a distinct domain within PCK and often uses CK quality as an indicator; the second (n = 95) conceptualises PCK as interconnected components, using indicators such as (1) the extent of individual components, (2) the richness of individual components, and (3) the degree of integration between components. Common components-specific indicators (e.g. student-centeredness, accuracy) were also identified. Not surprisingly, few studies focused on PCK for teaching non-traditional science content. Issues arising from findings and their implications for twenty-first-century science education are discussed.