Student teachers' attitudes toward science and science teaching

Attitudes toward science and science teaching are the subject of a mounting body of research on teachers. A widely used instrument developed by researchers in the United States appears to be relevant to the Australian context and was considered appropriate for measuring attitudes of preservice student teachers attending a College of Advanced Education in Brisbane. The findings suggest that much more effort needs to be concentrated on fostering desirable attitudes toward science and the teaching of science among future primary school teachers.     

Secondary science teachers' attitudes toward and beliefs about science reading and science textbooks

Science textbooks are dominant influences behind most secondary science instruction but little is known about teachers' approach to science reading. The purpose of this naturalistic study was to develop and validate a Science and Reading Questionnaire to assess secondary science teachers' attitudes toward science reading and their beliefs or informed opinions about science reading. A survey of 428 British Columbia secondary science teachers was conducted and 215 science teachers responded. Results on a 12-item Likert attitude scale indicated that teachers place high value on reading as an important strategy to promote learning in science and that they generally accept responsibility for teaching content reading skills to science students. Results on a 13-item Likert belief scale indicated that science teachers generally reject the text-driven model of reading, but they usually do not have well-formulated alternative models to guide their teaching practices. Teachers have intuitive beliefs about science reading that partially agree with many research findings, but their beliefs are fragmented and particularly sketchy in regard to the cognitive and metacognitive skills required by readers to learn from science texts. The findings for attitude, belief, and total scales were substantiated by further questions in the Science and Reading Questionnaire regarding classroom practice and by individual interviews and classroom observations of a 15-teacher subsample of the questionnaire respondents.     

The relationship between attitudes toward science and science achievement

This study investigated the relationship between elementary pupils' attitudes toward science and their science achievement. Residualized gain scores were used to analyze the data. By using residualized gain scores, the effects of individual differences can be minimized. In addition to controlling for these differences, residualized gain scores do not possess the measurement errors that are normally associated with simple change scores. The subjects of this study were 583 intermediate elementary pupils. The average class size was 21. A pretest-posttest design was used. To insure consistency in the teaching of the lesson, each teacher was given an identical detailed science lesson that included all the instructions and materials needed for the activity. The pupils were pre- and posttested. The pupils' science achievement was assessed by a test, the “Hough Pupil Process Test.” It consisted of multiple choice and fill-in questions. The attitude instrument, the “Hough Attitude Inventory,” was given to the elementary pupils involved in this study. It was field tested and found to discern attitudes. The instrument consisted of six statements to which the subjects responded by circling either yes, I don't know, or no. The analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between the pupils' residualized gain scores on the “Hough Pupil Process Test” and their residualized gain scores on the “Hough Attitude Inventory” (r = 0.45).     

Elementary teachers' attitudes toward preassessment procedures

A questionnaire assessing their attitudes toward preassessment procedures was mailed to 300 elementary teachers; a 70% return rate was achieved. A 3 × 2 analysis of variance yielded main effects for years of experience and referral history. Teachers with more than 6 years of experience had significantly more negative attitudes toward preassessment than did teachers with less than 2 years of experience. Teachers who had made referrals to a preassessment team had significantly more negative attitudes than teachers who had no history of referrals to preassessment teams. Suggestions for modifying the preassessment process are offered.     

Characteristics of professional development that effect change in secondary science teachers' classroom practices

We studied the outcome of a professional development opportunity that consisted of 2‐week‐long resident institutes for teams consisting of a secondary science teacher and two students. The science content of the National Science Foundation (NSF)‐funded professional development institute was monarch butterfly ecology. The first institute took place in Minnesota during the summer, and the second in Texas during the fall. Staff scientists provided intense instruction in inquiry, with numerous opportunities for participants to conduct short inquiry‐based research projects. Careful attention was paid to introducing each step of the full inquiry process, from asking questions to presenting research findings. All participants conducted independent team full inquiry projects between the two institutes. Project findings show that the number of teachers providing opportunities for their students to conduct full inquiry increased significantly after their participation. A mixed‐methodology analysis that included qualitative and quantitative data from numerous sources, and case studies of 20 teachers, revealed that the characteristics of the program that helped teachers successfully translate inquiry to their classrooms were: deep science content and process knowledge with numerous opportunities for practice; the requirement that teachers demonstrate competence in a tangible and assessable way; and providers with high expectations for learning and the capability to facilitate multifaceted inquiry experiences. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Primary teachers' attitudes toward the direct instruction construct

In this survey we sought to investigate the extent to which primary school teachers working in Adelaide's northern suburbs (mainly lower SES) would relate to direct instruction as a viable teaching method in their professional work. Through approaches in school staffrooms, 150 questionnaires were distributed and 58 of these were returned via mail. A Likert-scale was used with five positive and six negative items, and a single factor resolution was evident. It was possible to identify 11 (19%) respondents exhibiting varying degrees of negative attitude, and 47 (81%) exhibiting varying degrees of positive attitude. Attitudes to direct instruction correlated positively with teachers' years of experience (r=0.34), and with a checklist measure tapping actual knowledge of the components of direct instruction as described by Rosenshine (r=0.63). Female teachers reported more positive attitudes than male teachers. Item analysis indicated a consistent pattern of generally positive orientation towards direct instruction, except in the case of one item, “Direct instruction is an effective method with all students,” which elicited an agreement level of only 39%.     

Chinese teachers' attitudes toward teaching physical activity and fitness

In this study we examined Chinese physical educators' attitudes toward teaching physical activity and fitness. We then compared the Chinese teacher attitudes to their American counterparts. Participants were 330 Chinese elementary, middle and high school physical educators. The Teachers' Attitudes Toward Curriculum in Physical Education (TATCPE) instrument was used to gather data. One‐way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests indicated that the Chinese teachers scored significantly higher on the self‐actualization and physical activity/fitness than the motor skill development and social development outcome goals. The MANOVA on motor skill development, physical activity/fitness, self‐actualization and social development outcome goals showed no significant differences for gender, teaching level, or years of teaching experience among the Chinese teachers. Teachers from both countries, however, considered all four domain areas to be important outcome goals. Despite cultural differences, Chinese and American teachers share key core attitudinal values about their respective programs.     

An implementation study: An analysis of elementary students' and teachers' attitudes toward science in process-approach vs. traditional science classes

In 1983, the Richardson Independent School District conducted an internal audit to assess the status of science education. The audit was in anticipation of Texas Administrative Code Chapter 75 which requires an inquiry-oriented, process-approach to the teaching of science. In response to the data, and to national reports advocating a broadening of the science education curriculum to address the needs of all students, the district established a committee to implement and evaluate their new K-6 SCIENCE THROUGH DISCOVERY curriculum. The Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIIS) was adopted as the focal component of the overall curriculum with subsequent, planned innovations to occur in accordance with the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes toward science of students who had completed one year of SCIIS compared to students in non-SCIIS classes. In addition, the attitudes of teachers who received inservice education and who had instructed SCIIS were compared to non-SCIIS teachers. While SCIIS and non-SCIIS teachers possess similar perceptions of science, drastic attitudinal differences were observed between SCIIS and non-SCIIS students. The results indicate that the nature of the curriculum, in conjunction with the necessary implementation support including inservice education, greatly enhances students perceptions of science.     

Biology teachers' attitudes toward and use of Indiana's evolution standards

This study examines the relationship between biology teachers' evolution teaching practices and their regard and use of Indiana state evolution standards. A survey developed by the authors contained five subscales: use of standards; attitude toward standards; attitude toward evolution standards; evolution teaching practices; and demographic information. This survey was administered to 229 Indiana biology teachers. Data were analyzed using the Rasch model to convert Likert rating scale data into ratio data used for parametric analyses. Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between use of standards and attitude toward standards, attitude toward standards and evolution teaching practices, and attitude toward evolution standards and days teaching evolution. These findings suggest practical relationships between standards use, teachers' regard of standards, and evolution teaching practices. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 236–257, 2007     

Relationship between ecology fieldwork and student attitudes toward environmental protection

This article is a summary of research carried out on Spanish secondary school students 14–16 years of age, with the intention of finding out what contributions fieldwork makes toward the understanding of concepts and principles of ecology, and also to ascertain the effects of fieldwork on the defense of the studied ecosystem. Before further research was conducted, an exploratory study was carried out consisting of an initial diagnosis of the pupils' ideas; fieldwork materials were prepared and an ecology unit for the study of a freshwater ecosystem was designed, along with evaluation instruments. The experimental design was given shape thanks to work done with two groups of students on whom a more exhaustive study was performed. The independent variable consisted of a field trip; the dependent variable was the learning of ecological concepts and their application to the assessment of an environmental problem. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. A result of the research work was the conclusion that fieldwork helps clarify ecological concepts and intervenes directly in the development of more favorable attitudes toward the defense of the ecosystem. Both components are seen when making valid judgments for the resolution of problems which negatively affect the ecosystem and for showing the way toward the type of actions and solutions which should be adopted. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 431–453, 1999     

Relationship between nonwestern teacher attitudes toward pupils and their authoritarianism

This study investigated the relationship of authoritarianism and teachers' attitude toward their pupils of graduate students in the Middle East. It was found that those individuals scoring high on authoritarianism had less positive attitudes toward pupils. Further, Moslems were more authoritarian and had less positive attitudes toward pupils than Christians. The sex of the respondent was not related to his or her attitude.