Teachers can play a key role in stimulating children's interest in
science, yet the literature suggests limited opportunities for such
development at primary level. This study investigated how preservice
primary teacher students with diverse attitudes
towards learning science engage in collaborative science activities and
how diverse attitudes influence their shared learning. Empirically,
engagement was examined in terms of the participatory roles
spontaneously adopted by students during group activities. Based on
class questionnaire data, four attitude profiles were identified using clustering
methods, Optimal, Promising, Vulnerable, and Uncommitted. Four small
groups characterized by the diversity of their members' attitudes were
selected for in-depth analysis. Video footage of each group's
interactions in two activities was subjected to systematic analyses of
their members' self-adopted roles, with a focus on three areas: Science
content, opinion sharing, and experiment and process. Role analysis
revealed attitude-, group- and activity-related differences in the
quality of individual and group engagement.