The “tipping point” for educational research: The role of pre-service science teachers’ epistemic beliefs in evaluating the professional utility of educational research

Teachers’ engagement with and in educational research has become an aspiration in many countries. However, this has been counterbalanced with decades of research on the perennial theory-practice divide. This study provides new perspectives by considering the role of epistemic beliefs in pre-service science teachers’ (PSSTs’) acceptance or rejection of “Education Studies” from their Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Individual case profiles demonstrate how PSSTs compare knowledge in science with knowledge in education. Certain belief profiles can be seen to present barriers to evaluating education research as valuable. Thus, we argue for epistemic development and support with boundary crossing in ITE.