Relationship among laboratory instruction,attitude toward science,and achievement in science knowledge

This study investigated the use of a hands-on laboratory program as a means of improving student attitude toward science and increasing student achievement levels in science knowledge. Using a posttest-only control group design, curriculum referenced objective examinations were used to measure student achievement in science knowledge, and a posttest Q-sort survey was used to measure student attitude toward science. A one-way analysis of variance compared the groups' differences in achievement and attitude toward science. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the effect of the laboratory treatment on the dependent achievement variable with attitude toward science as the covariable. The findings showed that students who had regular laboratory instruction (a) scored significantly higher (p < .01) on the objective examination of achievement in science knowledge than those who had no laboratory experiences; (b) exhibited a moderate, positive correlation (r = .406) between their attitude toward science and their achievement; and (c) scored significantly higher (p < .01) on achievement in science knowledge after these scores were adjusted on the attitude toward science covariable. There were no significant differences in achievement or attitude toward science for the limited English proficiency groups. It was concluded that laboratory instruction influenced, in a positive direction, the students' attitude toward science, and influenced their achievement in science knowledge. It was recommended that science instruction include a regular laboratory experience as a demonstrated viable and effective instructional method for science teachers. This model of science instruction has been shown to be effective with students of diverse backgrounds who live within large urban centers. J Res Sci Teach 34: 343–357, 1997.     

Social Values Associated with Cross-national Differences in Mathematics and Science Achievement: A cross-national analysis

This study explores several factors that account for cross-national differences in mathematics and science achievement for middle-school students from 39 countries based on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The results suggest that economic development level, as measured by GNP per capita, has a positive but relatively weak association with mathematics and science achievement. In contrast, variables reflecting a society's value on education, specifically the education of mathematics and science, demonstrates strong effects on students' achievement. These variables include students' perceived rigour of mathematics and science - a proxy of academic standards of mathematics and science, students' school attendance, the length of a school year, students' educational aspiration, and the average number of parents living with the student. The evidence presented in this study supports the argument that education reform aiming at improving mathematics and science achievement can hardly be successful without the efforts of the whole society.     

Urban African‐American middle school science students: Does standards‐based teaching make a difference?

The current reform movement in science education promotes standards‐based teaching, including the use of inquiry, problem solving, and open‐ended questioning, to improve student achievement. This study examines the influence of standards‐based teaching practices on the achievement of urban, African‐American, middle school science students. Science classes of teachers who had participated in the professional development (n = 8) of Ohio's statewide systemic initiative (SSI) were matched with classes of teachers (n = 10) who had not participated. Data were gathered using group‐administered questionnaires and achievement tests that were specifically designed for Ohio's SSI. Analyses indicate that teachers who frequently used standards‐based teaching practices positively influenced urban, African‐American students' science achievement and attitudes, especially for boys. Additionally, teachers' involvement in the SSI's professional development was positively related to the reported use of standards‐based teaching practices in the classroom. The findings support the efficacy of high‐quality professional development to change teaching practices and to enhance student learning. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 1019–1041, 2000     

Negotiating diversity: an empirical investigation into family,school and student factors influencing New Zealand adolescents’ science literacy

The purpose of this study was to examine a factor triad consisting of family, school and student variables contributing to New Zealand adolescents’ science literacy performance on Programme for International Student Assessment 2006. Results indicated that the selected variables in our study explained 25% of total differences in New Zealand students’ science achievement. Family socio-economic status (SES) as well as adolescents’ motivation to learn science and general value of science were influential factors in students’ science achievement. Findings also revealed a statistically significant interaction effect between SES and first-generation immigrant students but not between SES and second-generation immigrant students. Although parents’ perception of general value of science showed a positive effect on adolescents’ scientific performance, its predictive power was relatively weak.     

An Examination of Effective Practice: Moving Toward Elimination of Achievement Gaps in Science

This longitudinal study of middle school science teachers explored the relationship between effective science instruction, as defined by the National Science Education Standards (NRC in National science education standards. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996), and student achievement in science. Eleven teachers participated in a three year study of teacher effectiveness, determined by the LSC Classroom Observation Protocol (Horizon Research, Inc. in Local Systemic Change Classroom Observation Protocol. May 1, 2002) and student achievement, which was assessed using the Discovery Inquiry Test in Science. Findings in this study revealed the positive impact that effective science teachers have on student learning, eliminating achievement gaps between White and Non-White students. Case studies of three teachers, both effective and ineffective explore the beliefs and experiences that influence teachers to change, or not to change practice. This study provides justification for teaching science effectively to narrow achievement gaps in science and provides insight to stakeholders in science education as to how to support teachers in becoming more effective, through addressing existing teacher beliefs and providing experiences that challenge those beliefs.     

Relationship between affect and achievement in science and mathematics in Malaysia and Singapore

Background : The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries.

Purpose : This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and mathematics among Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students.

Sample : In total, 4466 Malaysia students and 4599 Singaporean students from Grade 8 who participated in TIMSS 2007 were involved in this study.

Design and method : Students’ achievement scores on eight items in the survey instrument that were reported in TIMSS 2007 were used as the dependent variable in the analysis. Students’ scores on four items in the TIMSS 2007 survey instrument pertaining to students’ affect towards science and mathematics together with students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education were used as the independent variables.

Results : Positive affect towards science and mathematics indicated statistically significant predictive effects on achievement in the two subjects for both Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. There were statistically significant predictive effects on mathematics achievement for the students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education for both Malaysian and Singaporean students, with R ² = 0.18 and 0.21, respectively. However, only parental education showed statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement for both countries. For Singapore, language spoken at home also demonstrated statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement, whereas gender did not. For Malaysia, neither gender nor language spoken at home had statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement.

Conclusions : It is important for educators to consider implementing self-concept enhancement intervention programmes by incorporating ‘affect’ components of academic self-concept in order to develop students’ talents and promote academic excellence in science and mathematics.     

Science achievement, gender differences, and experimental work in classes in Slovenia as evident in TIMSS studies

Since 1999, Slovenia has been in the process of introducing nine years of compulsory education to replace the previous eight-year system of compulsory education. Under the new system, the school entry age is six years rather than the former seven years. This reform of the system necessitated a number of other changes, such as those relating to the curriculum and teaching approaches. The purpose of this study was to compare the “new” Slovenian science curriculum with the “old” to ascertain if different relationships exist between the two in terms of achievement and gender, attitudes toward science, and the amount of experimental work undertaken by students in school. Data from the IEA TIMSS 2003 study were used to analyze these relationships. The analyses employed basic statistics and log-linear modeling of the effects of gender, school system, amount of experimental work in school, and students’ science achievement. Compared to students taught under the old curriculum, students taught under the new curriculum performed slightly better on the overall science test. A large decrease in gender differences in achievement was also apparent. The relationship between experimental work and achievement strengthened. Conducting experiments at every lesson related to lower student achievement, while conducting experiments during half of the science lessons related to higher achievement. These findings have a clear message for teachers and policymakers. A moderate amount of time devoted to student experimental work seems to raise science achievement of students as well as promote more positive attitudes toward learning science.     

An assessment of the validity and discrimination of the intensive time-series design by monitoring learning differences between students with different cognitive tendencies

Intensive time-series designs for classroom investigations have been under development since 1975. Studies have been conducted to determine their feasibility (Mayer & Lewis, 1979), their potential for monitoring knowledge acquisition (Mayer & Kozlow, 1980), and the potential threat to validity of the frequency of testing inherent in the design (Mayer & Rojas, 1982). This study, an extension of those previous studies, is an attempt to determine the degree of discrimination the design allows in collecting data on achievement. It also serves as a replication of the Mayer and Kozlow study, an attempt to determine design validity for collecting achievement data. The investigator used her eighth-grade earth science students, from a suburban Columbus (Ohio) junior high school. A multiple-group single intervention time-series design (Glass, Willson, & Gottman, 1975) was adapted to the collection of daily data on achievement in the topic of the intervention, a unit on plate tectonics. Single multiple-choice items were randomly assigned to each of three groups of students, identified on the basis of their ranking on a written test of cognitive level (Lawson, 1978). The top third, or those with formal cognitive tendencies, were compared on the basis of knowledge achievement and understanding achievement with the lowest third of the students, or those with concrete cognitive tendencies, to determine if the data collected in the design would discriminate between the two groups. Several studies (Goodstein & Howe, 1978; Lawson & Renner, 1975) indicated that students with formal cognitive tendencies should learn a formal concept such as plate tectonics with greater understanding than should students with concrete cognitive tendencies. Analyses used were a comparison of regression lines in each of the three study stages: baseline, intervention, and follow-up; t-tests of means of days summed across each stage; and a time-series analysis program. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups both in slopes of regression lines (0.0001) and in t-tests (0.0005) on both knowledge and understanding levels of learning. These differences confirm the discrimination of the intensive time-series design in showing that it can distinguish differences in learning between students with formal cognitive tendencies and those with concrete cognitive tendencies. The time-series analysis model with a trend in the intervention was better than a model with no trend for both groups of students, in that it accounted for a greater amount of variance in the data from both knowledge and understanding levels of learning. This finding adds additional confidence in the validity of the design for obtaining achievement data. When the analysis model with trend was used on data from the group with formal cognitive tendencies, it accounted for a greater degree of variance than the same model applied to the data from the group with concrete cognitive tendencies. This more conservative analysis, therefor, gave results consistent with those from the more usual linear regression techniques and t-tests, further adding to the confidence in the discrimination of the design.     

Science Process Skills and Cognitive Preference Styles

The study examined the differences in cognitive styles between two comparable groups of students at the Grade 9 (Secondary 3) level, namely the LSS (Lower Secondary Science) group who had been exposed to the practical-based, inquiry-oriented type of science and the non-LSS group of students who had studied the more traditional type of science in the “old” science curriculum. Their differences in science achievement are measured by the common IEA Science Paper-Pencil, Multiple Choice Criterion Test and also, by the Science Process or Practical Test (which measured three levels of process skills, such as the observation/manipulation, reasoning and investigation skills). Variance in science achievement thus measured is examined against the 4 cognitive preference styles of the students, (measured by the Combined Cognitive Preference Inventory) namely the “recall”, “principles”, “applications” and “questioning” modes of thinking. The findings indicated that (a) the attainment of the science process or practical skills was characterised by the type of science curriculum (LSS or non-LSS) and it was significantly associated with the achievement level of students, (b) the cognitive preference pattern covaried according to the students' level of science achievement and the type of curriculum and (c) the weak but significant relationship between performance in the science practical skills and the students' modes of cognitive style have important implications for teachers who are concerned about the intended effects of changes in the science curriculum on the consequent learning behaviour or cognitive outcome of their students.     

Conceptual Teaching Through Multimediated Self‐instruction: a study with professional nursing students

A multimediated self‐instructional program was developed to introduce new concepts and techniques in an emerging area of nursing education. Two field testings of this instructional program were conducted with nursing students enrolled in a university. The results indicated that cognitive achievement did not differ between students taught by multimediated self‐instruction and lecture‐discussion. Students were able to effectively learn new nursing content through both teaching methods. There was no significant relationship found between students’ opinions about the instructional method experienced and their cognitive achievement. Students expressed some unfavourable feelings towards multimediated self‐instruction, possibly related to their general lack of prior experience with independent study or videotaped instruction. The effective use of multimediated self‐instruction is discussed.     

Effects of thematic‐based,hands‐on science teaching versus a textbook approach for students with disabilities

Institutions of higher education, states, and local K–12 districts have been challenged to improve math and science education for our nation's students. In the past few years, there has been renewed interest in inquiry‐based, activity‐oriented instruction in science for students with disabilities. Yet, there still exists the need for further empirical evidence to support instructional improvements for students with more involved emotional and behavioral disabilities. This study describes a program in which 18 middle school students with serious emotional disturbances were instructed, over the course of 8 weeks, on “Matter” by two different instructional approaches. Students in one classroom received a traditional textbook approach to science content, whereas students in another classroom received science instruction by a hands‐on, thematic approach. Over the course of instruction, data were collected regarding students' behavior and achievement. Results indicate that, overall, students in the hands‐on instructional program performed significantly better than the students in the textbook program on two of three measures of science achievement, a hands‐on assessment and a short‐answer test. The students did not differ on a multiple‐choice format test. With regard to behavior, there were no significant differences in behavioral problems found between the two groups of students over the course of the study. Findings are discussed in relation to instructional implications for students with disabilities in the science classroom. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 245–263, 2005     

National Science Education Standards: A political document

The National Science Education Standards provides a vision teaching and learning science for the science education system and criteria to measure progress toward that vision. The document contains standards for content, teaching, assessment, three major levers of change identified by policy analysts. The Standards also include program standards for schools and districts and system standards. This article describes how the Standards were developed within a political context, through a process with political aspects and includes political intents. It closes with recommendations about why and how science education researchers might engage in the political process. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 711–727, 1998.     

The Effects of Dichotomous Attitudes toward Science on Interest and Conceptual Understanding in Physics

The literature on students' attitudinal constructs in science education asserts that students hold dichotomous attitudes toward science (AS). For instance, studies from the Relevance of Science Education project reveal that students possess negative attitudes in terms of their favourableness toward school science, preference toward scientific careers, and emotional states toward science (negative intrinsic AS), despite their positive perception that science is important for society (positive extrinsic AS). The issue demands in‐depth examination, since not enough science educators have studied the effects of the dichotomous AS on science education. Rather, they have attempted to improve the uncategorised AS for stimulating student achievement in science education. Hence, the aim of this study is to clarify how the dichotomous attitude (intrinsic AS and extrinsic AS) relates to the two educational products in science: interest inventory and conceptual understanding. One hundred and sixteen physics learners in Japan were sampled for fitting the structural equation model in this study. Our final model validated by LISREL suggests that intrinsic AS exclusively stimulate students' interest and conceptual understanding in physics, while extrinsic AS fail to play their expected role. Finally, features of the sampled 10th‐graders and their dichotomous AS are further interpreted with the prevalent concept of the hidden curriculum.     

Academic achievement in first-year university: who maintains their high school average?

The present study investigates the characteristics which differentiate between first-year university students who maintain their high school averages (Maintainers: n = 165) and those whose averages decrease at least one letter grade (Decliners: n = 435). The 600 students entered first year at one of six Canadian Universities, which varied in size and ethnic diversity. Data were collected in August, prior to the start of school, and in November of first year. Multivariate analyses indicated significant group differences between Maintainers and Decliners on familial variables (gender, fathers’ education level, but not family income, parental reciprocity, parental support or immigrant/generational status), psychological well-being (perceived stress in August and November, and November depression, self-esteem and health), and university adjustment (university plans, transition perception, time management and university adaptation). The current study addresses a gap in the existing academic achievement literature, while providing practical information to students, parents, and educators involved in the transition to university.     

Examining the yields of growth feedback from science teachers and students' intrinsic valuing of science: Implications for student- and school-level science achievement

Students' science knowledge and skills are considered critical to growing the intellectual capital on which societies rely to innovate and prosper. However, recent research has documented notable declines in students' intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement in Australia and other western countries. As a result, there have been calls to investigate factors at both the student- and school-level that can improve intrinsic valuing of and achievement in science. Growth feedback from science teachers to students has been identified as one such factor. Growth feedback, which specifically targets individual student growth and improvement, is considered an effective form of teacher feedback. Because recent research has demonstrated the benefits of effective teacher feedback on intrinsic valuing of science and the positive link between intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement, the present investigation examined (at both the student- and school-level) the extent to which growth feedback in science predicts intrinsic valuing of science and the extent to which intrinsic valuing predicts science achievement and mediates the relationship between growth feedback and achievement. This study examined this hypothesized process with the 2015 Australian PISA sample (N = 14,530 students in N = 758 schools) via a multilevel structural equation model. Findings indicated that at both the student- and school-level, growth feedback significantly predicted intrinsic valuing, and intrinsic valuing significantly predicted achievement; growth feedback also had significant indirect effects of achievement via intrinsic valuing. Taken together, our findings indicate that there are personal and whole-school yields for science achievement from the experiences of growth feedback in and intrinsic valuing of science.     

Students’ Perspectives on Worldwide “Greening” of Tertiary Education Curricula

Several scholars have suggested the introduction of an environmental literacy requirement into the curricula of Non-Environmental Science disciplines in tertiary institutions of the world as a “greening” strategy for fostering global environmental stewardship necessary for enhancing understanding and collaboration in tackling the major environmental risks facing our global village today. However, there is no study on students’ opinion on this issue. This study was therefore initiated to 1) evaluate the opinion of undergraduate students on the introduction of a worldwide environmental literacy into the curricula of Non-Environmental science majors as a graduation requirement; and 2) identify any possible demographic differences in opinions among the student subjects polled. We sought the opinion of 800 undergraduates from African, North American and European universities on the subject and 99% responded. The result showed that a majority (67%) of them supported the worldwide environmental literacy requirement and those already trained were significantly (P < 0.0001) more likely to support it than those untrained. Students from developing countries were significantly (P < 0.0001) more likely to support it than those from developed countries; similarly students in the Arts’ disciplines were more likely to support it than Non-Arts’ students as a group. However, no significant differences were observed between students from Francophone versus Anglophone countries; Social Sciences versus Non-Social Sciences majors and between Education versus Non-Education majors. Some similarities were observed between the opinion of university-age students in this study and 15-year old secondary school students from two major international surveys (Research on Science Education-ROSE, and Program for International Student Assessment-PISA) on science education; further studies comparing these two categories of students is suggested. The need for all professionals to be literate about the science of their surroundings was the most identified reason for supporting the literacy requirement by the students polled. The results of this study thus provide evidence of support by students in the on-going paradigm shift towards “greening” the curricula of tertiary institutions and thus reinforces its implementation by leaders of academe and policy makers worldwide.     

The determinants of student achievement in Turkey

Recent achievement test results show that Turkish students have been performing poorly compared to students from other countries. Using science literacy results from the PISA 2006 survey, we aim to measure the determinants of student achievement in Turkey within the education production function framework. We find that program types have large effects on student achievement. Since many students are allocated across program types as a result of a centralized exam, we try to control for past academic achievement and also for differences in the average socioeconomic background of students in a given school. The results indicate that students cluster in schools according to their socioeconomic background, and previous academic record is important, however, the effects of program types persist. Policies to augment socioeconomic background, such as conditional cash transfers and lifelong learning programs that prioritize parents will increase educational output.     

The Effect of a State Department of Education Teacher Mentor Initiative on Science Achievement

This study investigated the effectiveness of a southern state??s department of education program to improve science achievement through embedded professional development of science teachers in the lowest performing schools. The Science Mentor Program provided content and inquiry-based coaching by teacher leaders to science teachers in their own classrooms. The study analyzed the mean scale scores for the science portion of the state??s high school graduation test for the years 2004 through 2007 to determine whether schools receiving the intervention scored significantly higher than comparison schools receiving no intervention. The results showed that all schools achieved significant improvement of scale scores between 2004 and 2007, but there were no significant performance differences between intervention and comparison schools, nor were there any significant differences between various subgroups in intervention and comparison schools. However, one subgroup, economically disadvantaged (ED) students, from high-level intervention schools closed the achievement gap with ED students from no-intervention schools across the period of the study. The study provides important information to guide future research on and design of large-scale professional development programs to foster inquiry-based science.     

Participatory design in secondary education: is it a good idea? Students’ and teachers’ opinions on its desirability and feasibility

Research has shown the importance of students’ perceptions of a learning environment and the existence of discrepancies between students’ and teachers’ perceptions. Participatory design could be a helpful strategy to reduce such discrepancies and eventually improve the design of learning environments, as it has proven to be effective to optimize design in other domains. The current study investigated the desirability and feasibility of possible use of participatory design in education. Students and teachers in secondary education were interviewed about their opinions on the idea of participatory design of a learning environment. Both students and teachers displayed predominantly positive opinions towards possibly engaging in participatory design, supporting its desirability and feasibility. Practical suggestions for implementation are included.