Countering science reluctance in elementary science education: Contrasting approaches via action research

This article describes and evaluates the work of an action research group (three teachers and a researcher/facilitator) established to address some of the problems associated with teaching science in elementary schools—in particular, what has been described as ‘science reluctance’ or, in its more extreme form, as ‘science phobia.’ It also describes how an elementary school teacher worked in a one‐on‐one relationship with the same researcher/facilitator to replace her somewhat traditional approach to science teaching with more hands‐on activities and student‐directed inquiry. The author asks whether this particular project can legitimately be classified as action research. © 2002 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.