Abstract
This study investigated the correlations of general knowledge, vocational interests, and
personality with trainee teachers’ attitudes and perceived capabilities in teaching physics and tech-
nology topics in kindergarten and primary school. A quantitative survey was composed using
the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire, the general knowledge test BOWIT, the general interest
structure test AIST-R, and the 10-item Big Five Inventory. The sample consisted of 196 female trainee
teachers for kindergarten and primary school, and the results showed that only a few trainee teachers
favoured teaching physics and technology topics. The bivariate analyses indicated that investigative
and realistic interests were highly correlated with their confidence in teaching physics and technology
topics, followed by significant relationships with possessing general knowledge in science and tech-
nology. The relationships with personality, especially neuroticism and extraversion, were also evident,
but they were not as strong. The results were further differentiated in various subgroups (i.e., a group
who favoured teaching physics and technology topics versus a group who did not, as well as a group
with the typical interest profile of kindergarten and primary-school teachers versus a group with a
social and investigative interest profile), which provided additional insights.