Khoza, Hlologelo Climant2025-03-242025-03-242024Khoza, H. C. (2024). Pre-service science teachers’ knowledge and skills backlog perpetuated by emergency remote teaching. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 23(3), 464–475. https://DOI.org/10.33225/jbse/24.23.464.1648-3898 (print)2538-7138 (online)10.33225/jbse/24.23.464http://hdl.handle.net/2263/101648The adoption of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 Pandemic brought a shift in how lecturers teach in higher education, posing a threat to the usual development of competencies in students. This study aimed to uncover the knowledge and skills backlogs experienced by pre-service teachers. The study is framed within various concepts that characterize an ideal science teacher. Using a qualitative case-study design, data were collected through interviews with nine pre-service teachers who were subjected to the ERT. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed thematically using the established framework as a lens. The findings indicate that while the science pre-service teachers acquired some technological knowledge, there was a concurrent loss of sufficient content knowledge, a crucial prerequisite for the development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Additionally, the pre-service science teachers highlighted a lack of knowledge in practical work and the specific pedagogies essential for teaching science. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of moving forward.en© 2024 Scientific Methodical Center. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Case studyKnowledge and skills backlogPre-service science teachersTeacher educationCOVID-19 pandemicCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Emergency remote teaching (ERT)SDG-04: Quality educationArticle