Abstract
This study investigated how pre-service teachers (PSTs) in South Africa experience professional learning opportunities that influence their preparedness to teach Science in the Foundation Phase. Grounded in the principles of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), the study employed thematic narrative analysis of focus group interviews and group reflections with 18 third- and fourth-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students from a South African university. The participants included eleven fourth-year and seven third-year students, representing diverse linguistic, gender, and residential backgrounds. The study is underpinned by three complementary theoretical perspectives: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Social Network Theory (SNT), and the Integrated Pedagogical Network Support (IPNS) framework. Together, these frameworks guided the interpretation of the findings by enabling an exploration of how curriculum design, practicum exposure, and professional learning networks shape PSTs’ confidence, professional learning, and emerging identities as Foundation Phase Science teachers. The findings revealed that while participants valued collaboration, mentorship, and reflective dialogue, they encountered limited structured, practice-based opportunities to integrate inclusive and inquiry-based science pedagogy during their training. The study recommends embedding supervised practicum experiences, formalised peer mentoring systems, and professional learning communities into teacher preparation programmes. By aligning teacher education with SoTL principles of inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation, this research contributes a contextually relevant framework for preparing confident, competent, and inquiry-oriented Science educators for the early years.