Determination and comparison of Turkish student characteristics affecting science literacy in Turkey according to PISA 2012

Abstract

Purpose- The main aim of this study is to determine student characteristics which affect science literacy of students aged 15 years and compare these results with the other countries according to PISA 2012. Methodology – In this field study descriptive research has been utilized. The data have been obtained via the internet from the official PISA site ( http://www.pisa.oecd.org ) . In this study, the data obtained with the participation of students from 4 countries (Turkey, Finland, America and Israel) involved in PISA 2012 were used. SPSS 15 program was used to analyses the data. In this study, the relationship between the dependent variable (Science Literacy) and student characteristics was tested. Findings- According to the results of this study, there is a meaningful relationship between science literacy and students characteristics. Statistically meaningful relationship was also found between students’ science literacy and the number of books, computers and cell phones in their home. In addition, there were significant differences between the science literacy averages of students in four countries (Turkey, Finland, USA and Israel) and the presence of world classics and books of poetry in their homes. Conclusion- Similarly, the science literacy average of students in Turkey, Finland and the United States varies significantly according to the availability of supplementary textbooks in their homes. This situation was not the case for Israel students. Moreover, four countries had different results in terms of the level of science literacy and student characteristics.