Secondary School Biology Students’ Attitudes towards Modern Biotechnology Characterised using Structural Equation Modeling

Ola Nordqvist,Stefan Johansson

doi:10.29333/ejmste/115016

Abstract

In biotechnology education research (BTER), the multifaceted construct of attitude has seldom been problematised in depth despite that the majority of studies in BTER during the last two decades have focused on students’ attitudes towards modern biotechnology. Most studies on attitudes in science education use a single-factor model in characterising students’ attitudes, while some use a three-factor model. By means of structural equation modeling the current study tested and evaluated single, three-factor, and bifactor models of student attitudes towards modern biotechnology. To further shed light on the stability of this model measurement invariance testing was carried out for groups; school-type, gender, grade, parental education and educational programme. The results showed that a three-factor model and a bifactor model showed satisfying fit to the student attitude data. The bifactor model were relatively invariant for all groups except for gender, where boys had a more positive attitude. The affective and behavioural aspects of attitudes were highly correlated why the bifactor model with its general factor and specific cognitive factor may provide a more sound explanation of students’ attitudes towards biotechnology. The results indicate the importance of including affective and behavioural dimensions of attitude in biotechnology teaching. Further implications for practice are discussed.

Highlights

Modern biotechnology has been, from the turn of the century, an integrated part of upper secondary science curricula in many countries around the world such as England, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey, and the United States (France, 2007; Severcan, Ozan, & Haris, 2000; Zeller, 1994)
The observed increased research interest on students attitudes in science in the last decade is in part prompted by the evident negative trend in interest in school science over time (Aikenhead, 2004; Gilbert, 2006; Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003) and as students progresses through the school system (Christidou, 2011; Potvin & Hasni, 2014a), in Western countries
The main purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes towards modern biotechnology among upper secondary school biology students using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach

Summary

Introduction

From the turn of the century, an integrated part of upper secondary science curricula in many countries around the world such as England, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey, and the United States (France, 2007; Severcan, Ozan, & Haris, 2000; Zeller, 1994). The observed increased research interest on students attitudes in science in the last decade is in part prompted by the evident negative trend in interest in school science over time (Aikenhead, 2004; Gilbert, 2006; Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003) and as students progresses through the school system (Christidou, 2011; Potvin & Hasni, 2014a), in Western countries. Another reason for the increased research interest in students attitudes is the promise of emerging research methods (Osborne et al, 2003). Koballa & Glynn (2007, p. 76) further adds rationale for research on students attitudes in science when they state that “attitudinal [...] constructs [act] as moderators of a learner’s conceptual change and suggest that

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