Full text can be accessed at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1178457In an eort to understand why recent initiatives to promote learner- centred pedagogy in science teaching made a little change in the actual teach-ing practices of science teachers, this study explored pre-service science teachers’ beliefs about science knowledge and their teaching practices. Six pre-service sci-ence teachers were interviewed to explore their beliefs. Moreover, lessons taught by pre-service teachers were observed to see how their beliefs manifest in their teach-ing practices. This was followed by post-observation interviews focusing on critical incidences observed. Findings showed that pre-service science teachers hold dualist views about science. They viewed science knowledge to be simple, rigid and deriva-tive of specific bodies of knowledge handed down by authorities such as textbooks and experts. Consistent with their beliefs, pre-service teachers asked factual ques-tions and sought pre-determined textbook-based answers from students. They adopted transmissive teaching strategies to propagate textbook-based science knowledge. It was concluded that the way science teachers uptake the aspired learner-centred teaching may be partly due to incompatible beliefs they hold.