Use of the refined consensus model of PCK as a methodological construct in science education research: a literature review from 2017 to 2024

Abstract

The Refined Consensus Model (RCM) proposes an understanding of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) based on domains, emphasizing processes through which teachers’ professional knowledge is transformed. As it offers researchers new perspectives for investigation, understanding how this model has been incorporated into empirical PCK research is relevant for identifying advances, trends, and gaps in the field. Therefore, this study aims to characterize research on PCK in Science Education that adopts RCM as an analytical framework. To this end, we conducted a literature review of empirical articles published in Portuguese, English, and Spanish and indexed in the ERIC database, complemented by articles identified through Google Scholar, from 2017 to 2024. Using well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected and analyzed 39 full-text articles. The main findings revealed: (i) a diversity of data-collection instruments, particularly CoRe used in association with interviews and questionnaires; (ii) although ePCK is frequently investigated, few studies examine its relationships with pPCK and cPCK; (iii) the predominance of analytical frameworks developed prior to the RCM; and (iv) limited investigation of its relationships with filters and amplifiers, as well as with student outcomes. We therefore discuss how the RCM was explored by researchers in the field during the selected period, as well as its potentialities and limitations, since it has been only partially explored in investigations of real teaching situations in which the focus lies on movements among the three PCK domains advocated by the model itself.