Biology student teachers’ ideas about purpose of laboratory work

The aim of this study is to investigate biology student teachers’ ideas about the purpose of laboratory work in teaching biology. Data has been collected from 82 participating students using an open-ended questionnaire and analyzed using content analysis techniques. The results show that almost all of the student teachers considered laboratory work an integral part of teaching biology. However, participating students focused on the verification of theoretical knowledge and laboratory techniques as the main purpose of laboratory work. Furthermore, most of the participating students ignored the purposes relating to scientific process skills and the nature of science. These results are compared with related literature and recommendations are provided.