Examining perspectives for education regarding international concerns in science and society (original) (raw)

Important but not for me as a girl: French students' attitudes towards secondary school science

review of science, mathematics and ICT education , 2019

While the role of science and technology is extremely important for the contemporary society, while expertise in science and technology has proved to be politically a key issue, western countries have observed a decline in students' interest in both studying and pursuing careers in scientific subject areas. In the present article, the purpose is to document how French students relate to their school science classes, with a data from a Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) questionnaire-based study involving 2395 students (1264 girls; 1131 boys). The findings of our research show some interesting gender differences and there is no sense to treat girls as though they were a homogeneous group.

van Griethuijsen, R., van Eijck, Michiel W., Haste, H., den Brok, P., Skinner, N., Mansour, N., Gencer, A., BouJaoude, S. (in press). Global Patterns in Students’ Views of Science and Interest in Science. Research in Science Education. DOI: 10.1007/s11165-014-9438-6

International studies have shown that interest in science and technology among primary and secondary school students in Western European countries is low and seems to be decreasing. In many countries outside Europe, and especially in developing countries, interest in science and technology remains strong. As part of the large-scale European Union funded 'Science Education for Diversity' project, a questionnaire probing potential reasons for this difference was completed by students in the UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Lebanon, India and Malaysia. This questionnaire sought information about favourite courses, extracurricular activities and views on the nature of science. Over 9,000 students aged mainly between 10 and 14 years completed the questionnaire. Results revealed that students in countries outside Western Europe showed a greater interest in school science, in careers related to science and in extracurricular activities related to science than did Western European students. Non-European students were also more likely to hold an empiricist view of the nature of science and to believe that science can solve many problems faced by the world. Multilevel analysis revealed a strong correlation between interest in science and having such a view of the Nature of Science.

Global Patterns in Students’ Views of Science and Interest in Science

International studies have shown that interest in science and technology among primary and secondary school students in Western European countries is low and seems to be decreasing. In many countries outside Europe, and especially in developing countries, interest in science and technology remains strong. As part of the large-scale European Union funded ‘Science Education for Diversity’ project, a questionnaire probing potential reasons for this difference was completed by students in the UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Lebanon, India and Malaysia. This questionnaire sought information about favourite courses, extracurricular activities and views on the nature of science. Over 9,000 students aged mainly between 10 and 14 years completed the questionnaire. Results revealed that students in countries outside Western Europe showed a greater interest in school science, in careers related to science and in extracurricular activities related to science than did Western European students. Non-European students were also more likely to hold an empiricist view of the nature of science and to believe that science can solve many problems faced by the world. Multilevel analysis revealed a strong correlation between interest in science and having such a view of the Nature of Science.

Attitudes Toward Science Among School Students Of Different Nations: A Review Study

Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2011

This review examines the effects of nationality on attitudes of students to study science. It compares data from many countries published in refereed research journals, research reports, book chapters, and conference papers. The main aim is to identify the commonalities and variations in the students attitudes with particular focus on students from developing and developed countries. The search of bibliographical databases yielded a lot of researches. After title and abstract screening and after eliminating duplicates and applying inclusion criteria, this search ended up to include 15. Findings make it clear that students in different parts of the world develop differing attitudes toward science. It is observed that students are positive internationally; however, students in developing countries are more positive than the students in rich and developed countries, especially in Japan and Korea. Biology is most favourite, particularly of girls, whereas boys favour physics. It is also ...

Students' Opinions about Science and Technology in Turkey and the United States: A Cross-Cultural Study

International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 2017

The aim of this study is to determine the thoughts of Turkish and American middle school students on science and technology. One intact school was assigned randomly for this study from both countries. The sampling of the study contains 479 students (363 Turkish students, 116 American students) from two countries aged between 11 and 13. The data for the study were obtained by using ROSE Survey. The results of the study revealed similarities and dissimilarities on science and technology between the students of the two countries. The findings of the study are thought to improve the education of universal science and technology and to contribute to the researchers doing research on comparative education and cultural diversity and to the literature of international science education. Keywords: curriculum and instruction, science education, middle school

ROSE (The Relevance of Science Education) Final Report part 2. Western youth and science.

This is part 2 of the final report from ROSE (The Relevance of Science Education), a comparative study of 15 year old students' perceptions of science and science education. Here we present ROSE in more detail and present in-depth examples of how the date have been analyzed. The basis for this report is Camilla Schreiner's PhD (2006). We describe the background and rationale of ROSE, the chronology and details of the development of the ROSE instrument. We also discuss the underlying methodological considerations and theoretical perspective, in particular related to youth in late modernity. This report can also serve as an example on how data from studies like ROSE may be approached to give in-depth analysis and descriptions of different types of students based on the responses they give in ROSE-and in similar studies. The focus here is on the sample of Norwegian students, but international comparisons based on the same statistical methods are also included, based on two master degrees in science education, Fredrik Jensen (2008) and Fazilat Ullah (2008). One chapter is written by Maria Vetleseter Bøe, now (2019) now associate professor at the University of Oslo. Note that literature reviews and other chapters have not been updated.

High-school graduates' beliefs about science-technology-society. II. the interaction among science, technology and society

Science Education, 1987

What views do high-school graduates hold on the nature of the interaction of science, technology, and society? What role do they see both science and technology playing in ensuring their quality of life? Should their society control the direction of both scientific research and technological development? If so, how would this be done? This article addresses these and other issues.' Specifically, the article reports on Canadian student responses to item 1 and items 6 to 12 of the Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS). These items focus on the interaction of science, technology, and society. The study's theoretical framework, sampling procedures, instrument design, and data analysis were presented in the first article of the series (Aikenhead, Fleming & Ryan, 1987). Some essential features are summarized here. A sample of 10,800 students, who were in their graduating year of high school, was drawn in a stratified manner from across Canada as part of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Assessment (IEA) study (Connelly, Crocker & Kass, 1984). Each student was asked to respond to a statement concerning a STS topic (1) by indicating whether he or she agreed with the statement, disagreed, or could not tell; PLUS (2) by writing a paragraph explaining the reasons for the choice. The statements came from VOSTS Form CDN-2 comprising 46 statements based on 16 major topics found in the epistemology and sociology of science literature. Each The first article (Aikenhead, Fleming & Ryan, 1987) detailed the research methods of the study, described the construction of VOSTS, discussed problems of instrument validity in the area of monitoring student beliefs, and suggested fruitful directions for further research. Three ensuing articles document and discuss the various viewpoints held by Canadian high school students about the interaction among science, technology and society (the present article), the characteristics and limitations of scientific knowledge (Aikenhead, 1987), and the characteristics of scientists (Ryan, 1987).