Investigating the factors that foster and hinder understanding of physics concepts among prospective physics teachers

This study sought to identify multiple variables that foster the understanding of physics concepts among Indonesian prospective physics teachers through quantitative studies. The relationships arising between these variables were examined using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Variables that were considered to hinder the improvement of prospective physics teachers' understanding of physics concepts were explored through semi-structured interviews. Five questionnaires were completed by a total of 706 participants, and 25 of these participants were interviewed individually. The results confirmed that the demographic factors of participants and their beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, as well as how they were able to argue and reason scientifically, affected positively their understanding of physics concepts. Furthermore, the study identified a number of factors that inhibited participants’ enhancement in understanding physics concepts that related to their approaches to learning, the instructional media used, the nature of the classroom learning activities, the kind of learning assessments used, as well as the form of homework or assignments given in class. The findings of the study have the potential to contribute to the efforts of practitioners and policymakers wanting to improve the quality of physics teaching practices among Indonesian pre- and in-service teachers.