Relevance Of Science Education Research Articles

A Study of Iranian Students’ Attitude towards Science and Technology, School Science and Environment, Based on the ROSE Project

This study has investigated attitudes towards science and technology, school science and environmental issues among middle school students. The population included all 3rd grade students in Isfahan and a total of 250 students (120 female and 130 male) were selected through stratified random sampling method. Research instrument was the Persian translation of the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) Questionnaire. After pilot study, data were analyzed by SPSS. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for this scale was set to be .94. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and one sample t-test and independent t-test were used. Results indicated that there is a positive attitude towards science and technology, school science and environmental issues among students in three components of study. However, there was not a positive attitude towards some items of these components. The results also showed that in three components of the study, only there is a meaningful difference between males and females points of views in attitude towards environmental issues. According to this result, males have higher averages than the females. The results of this research provide important information about Iranian students’ attitude towards science and could be used by science educators to development of science curricula and science text books.

Colorful Nature and Grey Misery: Science and Technology in an Environmental Context as Analyzed in Pictures Made by 11- to 13-Year-Old Swiss Students

Abstract We asked 408 eleven- to 13-year-old Swiss children to draw a picture of their choice about “the environment.” We were especially interested in how these children presented the role of science and technology in an environmental context. The qualitative content analysis of the pictures was complemented by the results of a survey that consisted of 15 environmental questions used in the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) study. Our students showed a clear preference for an ecological, ecocentric stance. A colorful, untouched, idealized nature represented a normative threshold for a desirable situation. Technology was pictured as an instrument of human alienation from nature, creating a grey, hostile civilization dominated by science and technology. We conclude that science education has the delicate task of introducing students to more scientific, fact-oriented, pragmatic thinking without destroying their ecocentric, value-oriented views on environmental protection, thus fostering a constructive a...

Junior Secondary School Pupils' Perception of the Relevance of Environmental Issues: Implications for Science Educators

This study focuses on how the Ghanaian youth would want to associate with some environmental matters regarding science and technology learning using the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) survey questionnaire; and is also aimed at providing implications for science educators. The results reported in this study are an extract from the author's thesis and also from Ghanaian data which are aspects of much larger ROSE data collected from about 40 countries. The study involved a sample of 1027 Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 or ninth graders (551 boys and 476 girls) drawn from all the 12 districts in the Central Region of Ghana. The study draws on only one of the themes covered by the ROSE instrument and pupils were asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with 18 statements on a 4-point Likert-type scale which goes from ‘Disagree' to ‘Agree'. The responses were analysed using SPSS and Excel. Descriptive statistics was conducted on the data and an independent sample 2-tailed t-test was used to explore the statistical significance of the differences in the items' mean at p ≤ 0.05. On the average, the results suggest that the majority of pupils in the sample, irrespective of the gender shared almost similar sentiments towards environmental protection issues and to a large extent, placed the same items on top as well as at the bottom of their priorities. An interesting aspect of pupils' concerns for the environment was their optimism about the future of the globe. The study suggests the need for science educators to consider pupils' views when teaching environmental related issues. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 5 2007: pp. 87-98

Student interests — the German and Austrian ROSE survey

ROSE (the Relevance of Science Education) is an international comparative study on the factors which influence learning in science. For this study, the interests, opinions and attitudes of young people were polled by using a standardised questionnaire. Initial data, empirically gathered from 1247 students at the end of lower secondary level in Germany and Austria, are presented in this study. The findings make it possible to identify typical adolescent topics and give information about the change of adolescent interests in the past 10 years. They verify that above all, contexts connected with health, fitness, mysticism and spectacular events are interesting for today's young generation. Curriculum development can be informed by a better knowledge of girls' and boys' interests in science topics.

Radical Constructivism, and the Sin of Relativism

The epistemology of relativism that is featured by the theory of radical constructivism is addressed. In particular, I examine several objections, all based on this epistemic position of relativism, that are often raised by critics of the theory: the charge of reality denial (which, it is often claimed, must lead ultimately to the epistemically problematic position of solipsism), the assertion of self-referential contradiction (a theory that rejects the notion of truth cannot itself claim to be true), and the accusation that the theory must lead to a position of ethical indifference. It is demonstrated that these objections do not hold: they arise, to a large extent, from the failure to distinguish properly between different knowledge domains – specifically, between the notions of cognitive and non-cognitive knowledge. Some concrete examples, specifically pertaining to the conflict between natural science and creationism, are addressed; and their relevance for science education is discussed.

Television programming and advertisements: Help or hindrance to effective science education?

Investigations were carried out to find the amount of science portrayed by terrestrial television in the UK and the public comprehension of that science as shown on television. UK terrestrial programming was derived from the Radio Times . Advertisement information was derived from UK terrestrial commercial television commercials. Public opinions were solicited by a survey of 200 members of the public ( n = 196). Science-based programming formed 5.36% of all terrestrial broadcasting time, with people watching an average of 1.75 science programmes per week (approx. 0.2% of programmes possible). 65% of all television advertisements were found to be science-based, although only 26% of advertisement categories were recognized as being science-based by the public. If interest in science is reflected in the amount of science programmes watched then the public are not interested in science. The lack of comprehension of the scientific basis of many advertisements is indicative of the lack of relevance of science education to people in modern society.

Consensus projects: teaching science for citizenship

In the first part of this article it is argued that knowledge of social aspects of science are of importance and relevance for science education for citizenship. The focus is on the importance of debate, criticism and evaluation of knowledge claims, within the scientific community. Knowledge of the nature and the limits of science are necessary as tools to interpret and debate statements with a science dimension occurring in debates over socio-scientific issues. The second part of this article presents a teaching model for engaging students in thoughtful decision-making on controversial socio-scientific issues. The main features of the teaching model are the evaluation and criticism of knowledge and opinions and the establishing of a consensual conclusion that includes a recommended action. Using the consensus project model implies an introduction to important social aspects of science concerning evaluation and validation of knowledge claims.

High school biology: What makes it a challenge for teachers?

This study contributes to our understanding of the complex issues inherent in dealing with the heterogeneity of current high school science classrooms, by reporting on in-depth interviews with 38 experienced biology teachers. Analyses of teachers' responses revealed complex and occasionally counter-intuitive relationships among: (a) their perceptions of what was distinctive about their school, its biology program, or their students; (b) their allocation of class time; (c) their efforts to individualize instruction and meet the needs of a heterogeneous student population; (d) their student outcome goals; and (e) the methods they used to evaluate student progress. Thus, for example, of the 9 teachers who cited the diversity of their students. 4 also commented on their poor motivation, but another 4 also commented on their high motivation. In addition, teachers reported using a similar range of instructional formats but for different reasons, depending on the characteristics of their students (e.g., cooperative learning groups used to compensate for poor attention spans, to challenge bright students, and to foster social tolerance). Discussion of these findings addresses several points of relevance for science education, teacher preparation, and curriculum reform. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Student beliefs about place value and decimals: Any relevance for science education?

Student beliefs about place value and decimals: Any relevance for science education?

Different content orientations in science and technology among primary and secondary boys and girls in Sweden: Implications for the transition from primary to secondary school?

This paper presents Swedish results from the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) study, which is part of a large world-wide comparative research study based at the University of Oslo. The national sample was collected in spring 2003 and originates from 751 students from 29 schools, most of whom were 15 years old. In an additional study data from primary students were collected in spring 2005, with a smaller sample of 112. Significant differences in content orientation between the primary and secondary boys and girls were found and are discussed in the context of young people’s interest in science and technology and the public function of those knowledge fields as a part of education. Earlier studies suggest the benefit of more applicative contexts as the children move through compulsory school. This statement is challenged to some degree in this paper and a stronger need to understand how the transition from primary to secondary level and specific contents are related is discussed. This is due to indications that students’ content orientations are partially dependant on age and there are significant differences due to gender to consider. A deeper examination of those elements can assist in the understanding of the relevance of science from the learners’ perspectives.

Science in society or science in school: Swedish secondary school science teachers’ beliefs about science and science lessons in comparison with what their students want to learn

This article presents comparisons concerned with secondary school science teachers’ and their students’ beliefs about science and technology and also what science content secondary science teachers teach and what their students want to learn. Student data are part of the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) study and the teacher data are part of an extensive study carried out only in Sweden. The results indicate that both secondary science teachers and their students are optimistic about science and technology as essential parts of societal development. When content from these knowledge fields is considered for instruction, significant disparities exist between what teachers teach and what their students want to learn. Additional results concerning the secondary science teachers’ beliefs, ‘out-ofschool experiences’, ‘Science Technology and Society’ (STS) approaches and ‘inquiry-based instruction’ are pointed out as important for the development of science instruction in secondary schools. The results are discussed in the contexts of students’ voices and teachers’ beliefs.