Science practical work as a signature pedagogy under threat: an ecological analysis of teacher agency and pedagogical change

Practical work is a longstanding feature of school science, yet concerns persist about its effectiveness. This paper explores practical work as a signature pedagogy of science education, examining how teachers achieve agency for its enactment within changing policy contexts. We use reflexive thematic analysis to analyse interviews with 15 highly experienced science teachers. We synthesise Shulman’s concept of signature pedagogy with Priestley et al.’s ecological model of teacher agency to analyse practical work at the level of its surface, deep and implicit structures. Four themes are identified: responses to assessment changes; loss of inquiry learning; learning the deep and implicit structures of practical work pedagogy; and ecological conditions enabling and constraining practical work. Teachers described learning to use practical work effectively through experience, professional dialogue and participation in subject-specific communities, while school contexts shaped their agency to enact these approaches. We argue that because practical work functions as a signature pedagogy, its effective enactment depends on specialised pedagogical knowledge and judgement. Constraints on teacher agency risk eroding the professional knowledge through which its deep and implicit structures are sustained. Supporting teachers’ ecological agency is therefore essential if practical work is to remain a productive feature of science education.