The characteristics of Earth science-related science capital among pre-service Earth science teachers and how participants retrospectively related their past science-related experiences to these characteristics were investigated. Science capital is a configuration of cultural resources, social relationships, and practices, the meaning of which depends on how they are recognized and used. Four male pre-service Earth science teachers from a national university in South Korea were purposively selected following preliminary reflective writing. Evidence was obtained through two rounds of semistructured interviews. A theory-informed deductive–inductive thematic analysis revealed current characteristics and configurations, and separate within-case relational matrices and cross-case comparison were used to examine participantarticulated connections with past experiences. Results of the first analysis revealed achievement-based perceived competence, teacher-associated conceptual accessibility, sustained observation and interpretation of natural phenomena, and family-associated disciplinary familiarity. Those of the second analysis showed that participants connected past experiences with these characteristics through retrospective recognition, continued usability, different meanings attached to broadly similar resources, and the contexts in which the resources became meaningful. Examination improvement was associated with perceived competence, memorable teacher explanations with conceptual accessibility, repeated observation with enduring interpretive practice, and family exposure with disciplinary familiarity. These patterns represent relationships reconstructed from retrospective accounts rather than from causal pathways. This study elucidates the discipline-specific and relational character of science capital among pre-service Earth science teachers and suggests that teacher education may help them recognize both visible and less visible resources in their science-learning histories.

Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
    2.1. Science Capital as a Relational Configurationof Resources
    2.2. Science Capital in Pre-Service EarthScience Teacher Education
3. Methods
    3.1. Research Design
    3.2. Research Context and Participant Selection
    3.3. Data Collection
    3.4. Data Analysis
    3.5. Trustworthiness and Researcher Positionality
4. Results
    4.1. Characteristics of Earth Science-RelatedScience Capital
    4.2. Retrospectively Interpreted RelationshipsBetween Past Experiences and Science CapitalCharacteristics
5. Conclusion and Implications
References

• Yoon-Sung Choi(Department of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea)
• Soon-Young Park(Department of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea, Department of Science Education, Daegu National University of Education, Daegu 42411, Korea) Corresponding author