Abstract

In this study, elementary school teachers' needs for the teachers' manual for science instruction were investigated. The participants were 143 elementary school teachers. The test for needs analysis consisted of thirty-seven 5-point Likert-scaled items: Seven items for the professional knowledge category, fourteen items for the laboratory category, ten items for the instruction category, and six items for the design category, respectively. Teachers' background variables such as sex, age, teaching career, major, and the frequency of using teachers' manuals for science instruction except for the teachers' manuals for science textbooks were also examined. The results indicated that elementary school teachers' needs were generally found to be high, which means they are not satisfied with the current teachers' manuals for science textbooks and/or other teachers' manuals for science instructions. In addition, teachers' needs for the laboratory category tended to be higher than those for the other categories. In several items, elementary school teachers' needs were also found to be different in terms of their characteristics.

Keywords

• need analysis;
• elementary school teacher;
• teachers' manual for science instruction;
• characteristics of teachers