Scientists’ Ontological and Epistemological Views about Science from the Perspective of Critical Realism

Including the perspectives of scientists about the nature and process of science is important for an authentic and nuanced portrayal of science in science education. The small number of studies that have explored scientists’ worldviews about science has thus far generated contradictory findings, with recent studies claiming that scientists simultaneously hold contradictory sophisticated and naïve views. This article reports on an exploratory study that uses the framework of Bhaskar’s critical realism to elicit and separately analyse academic scientists’ ontological and epistemological views about science in semi-structured interviews. When the views of scientists are analysed through the lens of critical realism, it is clear that it is possible to hold a realist ontological commitment about what knowledge is of, simultaneously with a fallibilist epistemological commitment about knowledge itself. The apparent incongruence of scientists’ so-called naïve and sophisticated views about science is resolved when analysed using a critical realist framework. Critical realism offers a simple and coherent framework for science educators that avoids many of the problems of positivism and social constructivism by finding a middle ground between them. The three pillars of critical realism: ontological realism, epistemological fallibilism and judgmental rationality help to make sense of how socially constructed scientific knowledge can be anchored in an independent reality.     

Relationships between student scientific epistemological beliefs and perceptions of constructivist learning environments

This study was conducted to explore the interplay between students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their perceptions of constructivist learning environments. Through analysing 1,176 Taiwanese tenth-graders’ (16-year-olds) questionnaire responses, this study found that students tended to perceive that actual learning environments were less constructivist orientated than what they preferred. Students having epistemological beliefs more orientated to constructivist views of science (as opposed to empiricist views about science) tended to have a view that actual learning environments did not provide sufficient opportunities for social negotiations (p < 0.01) and prior knowledge integration (p < 0.01); and moreover, they show significantly stronger preferences to learn in the constructivist learning environments where they could (1) interact and negotiate meanings with others (p < 0.001), (2) integrate their prior knowledge and experiences with newly constructed knowledge (p < 0.001) and (3) meaningfully control their learning activities (p < 0.001). The main thrust of the findings drawn from this study indicates that teachers need to be very aware of students’ epistemological orientation towards scientific knowledge, and to complement these preferences when designing learning experiences, especially to provide constructivist-based lessons to enhance science learning for students who are epistemologically constructivist orientated.     

The effects of STS-oriented instruction on female tenth graders' cognitive structure outcomes and the role of student scientific epistemological beliefs

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of STS (Science-Technology-Society) instruction on a group of Taiwanese female tenth graders' cognitive structure outcomes. This study further examined the role of student scientific epistemological beliefs on such effects. One hundred and one female tenth graders were assigned to either a STS-oriented instruction group or a traditional teaching group and then this study conducted a eight-month research treatment. Students' interview details, analysed through a 'flow map' method, indicated that STS group students performed better in terms of the extent, richness and connection of cognitive structure outcomes than did traditional group students. Further analyses suggested that STS instruction was especially beneficial to students having epistemological views more oriented to constructivist views of science, particularly in the beginning stage of STS instruction. This implies that learners' scientific epistemological beliefs may be an important factor mediating the implementation of STS-oriented instruction.     

Physics students' epistemologies and views about knowing and learning

Classrooms are complex environments in which curriculum, students, and teachers interact. In recent years a number of studies have investigated the effect of teachers' epistemologies on the classroom environment, yet little is known about students' epistemologies and how these interact with those of teachers. The purpose of this study was to document students' epistemologies and their concurrent views about knowing and learning. Using a written essay, short-answer responses to statements, a preferred classroom environment inventory, and interviews, students' views on scientific knowledge and their own knowing and learning were collected from 42 students in three sections of an introductory physics course. Our rather broad, qualitative inquiry provides a dynamic view of students' understanding of knowing and learning in high school physics. Our analyses reveal a spectrum of epistemological commitments commensurable with positions from objectivism to relativism, most of them with experientialist coloring. Even within individuals, these commitments could be at once commensurable and incommensurable with the same epistemological position. We also find rather significant inter- and intra-individual differences with respect to the consequences of a specific epistemological stance to learning, the learning strategies employed, and the learning environment preferred. Students' views on knowing and learning in physics are presented in the form of an emergent theory. The findings are discussed in terms of their application to classroom environments.     

Metaphors in knowledge and metaphors of knowledge: Notes on the constructivist view of learning

As the scientific change problem is at the center of epistemological research, the conceptual change problem is widely discussed in didactical research. In this paper common features of both problems will be discussed. Recent ideas on the role of analogies and metaphors in the growth of scientific knowledge are analyzed in order to show their relevance for scientific education problems. These ideas are also confronted with the image of scientific learning put forward by pedagogical and epistemological constructivism. In this perspective, the analysis of Maxwell's views about metaphors and analogies seems to give a deeper insight as to the problem of scientific change and scientific abstraction which still require clarification in educational and epistemological reflection.     

Science curriculum and teacher education: The role of presuppositions,contradictions, controversies and speculations vs Kuhn's ‘normal science’

Kuhn (1970) considered textbooks to be good 'pedagogical vehicles' for the perpetuation of ‘normal science’. Collins (2000) has pointed out a fundamental contradiction with respect to what science could achieve (create new knowledge) and how we teach science (authoritarian). Despite the reform efforts, students still have naïve views about the nature of science. Textbook analyses show almost a complete lack of understanding of the role played by presuppositions, contradictions, controversies and speculations in scientific progress. A possible solution to the contradiction pointed out by Collins is provided by the comparison of teaching approaches based on Kuhnian and Lakatosian perspectives of history and philosophy of science. It appears that the Kuhnian approach leaves out what really happens, that is the 'how' and 'why' of scientific progress. On the other hand, the Lakatosian perspective would enable students to understand that scientific progress is subsumed by a process that involves conflicting frameworks (dispute in science, according to Collins, 2000), based on processes that require the elaboration of rival hypotheses and their evaluation in the light of new evidence. It is plausible to suggest that the teacher by 'unfolding' the different episodes (based on historical reconstructions) can emphasize and illustrate how science actually works (tentative, controversial, rivalries, alternative interpretations of the same data), and this will show to the students that they need to go beyond ‘normal science’ as presented in their textbooks.     

Personal epistemology and relational pedagogy in early childhood teacher education programs

Over the last decade, research related to personal epistemological beliefs has offered insight into how to promote effective teaching and learning across educational settings. Personal epistemological beliefs reflect an individual's views about what knowledge is, how knowledge is gained, and the degree of certainty with which knowledge can be held. However, there has been no research that specifically investigates the relationship between such epistemological beliefs and early childhood practice. This paper draws together current research findings on epistemological beliefs and tertiary learning to provide a conceptual framework which can be used in early childhood teacher education programs to provide a basis for investigating early childhood teachers' understanding about their own learning and how they use this knowledge in their practice.     

Promotion of Cultural Content Knowledge Through the Use of the History and Philosophy of Science

Historical excurse was suggested as a beneficial form of using the history and philosophy of science in the modules of learning materials developed within the History and Philosophy in Science Teaching project. The paper briefly describes the theoretical framework of the produced modules, addressing ontological and epistemological aspects of historical changes in physics knowledge with regard to several particular concepts relevant to school course of physics. It is argued that such excurses create Cultural Content Knowledge which improves the Pedagogical Content Knowledge in teachers and are appropriate to facilitate the meaningful learning by students. The modules illustrate the new aspect of the scientific knowledge not sufficiently addressed in the current science educational discourse??the constructive diachronic discourse that took place in the history. Historical excurse makes explicit the paradigmatic conceptual changes in physics knowledge and thus creates the space of learning in which the ??correct?? knowledge (type I) emerges in a discourse with the alternates (type II knowledge). Some of the previous conceptions show certain similarity to students?? misconceptions which further motivates essential use of both types of scientific knowledge to support the meaningful learning of physics curriculum. The epistemological aspects of the developed materials illuminate the nature of scientific knowledge and its major features: objectiveness and cumulative nature. Teachers found the developed modules interesting, important but challenging their background and requiring special preparation.     

Comparison of Views of the Nature of Science between Natural Science and Nonscience Majors

Science educators have the common goal of helping students develop scientific literacy, including understanding of the nature of science (NOS). University faculties are challenged with the need to develop informed NOS views in several major student subpopulations, including science majors and nonscience majors. Research into NOS views of undergraduates, particularly science majors, has been limited. In this study, NOS views of undergraduates in introductory environmental science and upper-level animal behavior courses were measured using Likert items and open-ended prompts. Analysis revealed similarities in students'' views between the two courses; both populations held a mix of naïve, transitional, and moderately informed views. Comparison of pre- and postcourse mean scores revealed significant changes in NOS views only in select aspects of NOS. Student scores on sections addressing six aspects of NOS were significantly different in most cases, showing notably uninformed views of the distinctions between scientific theories and laws. Evidence-based insight into student NOS views can aid in reforming undergraduate science courses and will add to faculty and researcher understanding of the impressions of science held by undergraduates, helping educators improve scientific literacy in future scientists and diverse college graduates.     

Establishing an epistemological base for science teaching in the light of contemporary notions of the nature of science and of how children learn science

The quality of science education is a pervasive concern in educational improvement efforts. This article examines two aspects of science education that have been identified as being of concern: Is the material presented in science classrooms representative of science “as it really is” and, secondly, what is the bearing of notions of “children's science” on curriculum reform? A review of the literature in both areas shows that educational theory has, so far, had little effect on classroom practice. An attempt is made to synthesize contemporary views on the tentative nature of science with a generative model of learning in science in order to establish a common epistemological base which could be used as a template for curriculum reform efforts.     

Exploring Natural and Social Scientists’ Views of Nature of Science

Science education researchers recently turned their attention to exploring views about nature of science (NOS). A large body of research indicates that both students and teachers have many naïve views about the NOS. Unfortunately, less attention has been directed at the issue of exploring the views of the scientists. Also, the little research in the literature generally took into consideration NOS views of only natural scientists. This study primarily proposes to explore the views of scientists in both the natural and social sciences regarding the seven target aspects of NOS. The second aim of the study is to find out the similarities and dissimilarities between the views of scientists who majored in social sciences and those who majored in natural sciences in terms of the target aspects of NOS. The sample was 69 scientists representing 5 scientific disciplines from natural and social sciences. Interviews were employed for obtaining data. The data were analyzed by means of cognitive maps. This study revealed that the scientists in the sample have neither completely informed views nor completely naïve views according to contemporary scientific understanding. Their views were a blend of the two in terms of almost all the target aspects of NOS. The views of the scientists in natural science and in social science were not substantially different. The scientists from both groups generally had similar viewpoints. This situation suggested that the scientists' views about NOS are not related to their scientific disciplines.     

High school students' ideas about theories and theory change after a biological inquiry unit

Students' epistemological beliefs about scientific knowledge and practice are one important influence on their approach to learning. This article explores the effects that students' inquiry during a 4‐week technology‐supported unit on evolution and natural selection had on their beliefs about the nature of science. Before and after the study, 8 students were interviewed using the Nature of Science interview developed by Carey and colleagues. Overall, students held a view of science as a search for right answers about the world. Yet, the inconsistency of individuals' responses undermines the assumption that students have stable, coherent epistemological frameworks. Students' expressed ideas did not change over the course of the intervention, suggesting important differences between students' talk during inquiry and their abilities to talk epistemologically about science. Combined with previous work, our findings emphasize the crucial role of an explicit epistemic discourse in developing students' epistemological understanding. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 369–392, 2003     

From “truth” to “invented reality”: A discourse analysis of high school physics students' talk about scientific knowledge

Students' views of the nature of scientific knowledge have been recognized as an important component of science learning environments. In this study, we analyze an extensive data base consisting of 23 students' written and oral discourse about ontology, epistemology, and sociology of scientific knowledge collected over a 15-month period in the context of two consecutive junior- and senior-level physics courses. Over a 2-month period at the beginning of the second year, students read, reflected on, and talked about a text which discusses epistemology in the context of physics. Our study shows that students drew on nine types of discursive resources to support their ontological, epistemological, and sociological claims. Toward the end of the study, the range and number of supportive statements had increased. Simultaneously, few students changed their ontological and sociological claims, but a considerable number changed their epistemological claims. Two case studies illustrate the development of student discourse in the course of the study. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34 : 145–179, 1997.     

Naïve and informed views on the nature of scientific inquiry in large-scale assessments: Two sides of the same coin or different currencies?

Many models in the field of epistemic cognition conceptualize students' views as being on a continuum between the poles of naïve and informed views. Against this background, the aim of the present study was to find out whether views on the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI views) should be conceptualized and quantitatively assessed in a more multiplistic manner, considering naïve and informed views in their own, separate dimensions. Based on a competence model defining three inquiry methods, we developed a Likert-scaled questionnaire containing 10 scales, each assessing one NOSI view. We administered the questionnaire to a sample of 802 students in the lower and upper levels of secondary school. Based on structural equation modeling, the analyses confirmed a 10-dimensional model, distinguishing between each naïve and informed views as the only adequate representation of the data. Latent class analysis and interview data revealed four profiles of NOSI views in the data, which differed with regard to their agreement or disagreement with different naïve and informed views. We interpret these findings as evidence that supports more multiplistic models, with relevance to conceptualizing, measuring, and fostering NOSI views. We derive future directions of nature of science and NOSI research linking basic and applied research using experimental studies.     

Unpacking the paradox of Chinese science learners: insights from research into Asian Chinese school students’ attitudes towards learning science,science learning strategies,and scientific epistemological views

Chinese students’ excellent science performance in large-scale international comparisons contradicts the stereotype of the Chinese non-productive classroom learning environment and learners. Most of the existing explanations of this paradox are provided from the perspective of teaching and learning in a general sense, but little work can be found which systematically summarises the findings from the research on Chinese science learners and their science learning so as to explain the paradox. In this paper, a total of 25 empirical quantitative studies, whose sample sizes range from 132 to 8815, published between 1987 and 2014, are reviewed. Three aspects are explored: students’ science learning strategies, attitudes towards learning science and their scientific epistemological views. In addition to summarising the results reported in these studies, efforts are made to link them with the paradox of the Chinese learners, and to generate some hypotheses to resolve it. Finally, directions for further research are suggested.     

Rethinking diversity in learning science: The logic of everyday sense‐making

There are many ways to understand the gap in science learning and achievement separating low‐income, ethnic minority and linguistic minority children from more economically privileged students. In this article we offer our perspective. First, we discuss in broad strokes how the relationship between everyday and scientific knowledge and ways of knowing has been conceptualized in the field of science education research. We consider two dominant perspectives on this question, one which views the relationship as fundamentally discontinuous and the other which views it as fundamentally continuous. We locate our own work within the latter tradition and propose a framework for understanding the everyday sense‐making practices of students from diverse communities as an intellectual resource in science learning and teaching. Two case studies follow in which we elaborate this point of view through analysis of Haitian American and Latino students' talk and activity as they work to understand metamorphosis and experimentation, respectively. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this new conceptualization for research on science learning and teaching. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 529–552, 2001     

Teaching the Nature of Science in Physics Courses: The Contribution of Classroom Historical Inquiries

Physics and chemistry programs at the secondary school level in France recommend introducing components of the history of science (HS). Emphasis is placed on a ‘cultural’ dimension, which is poorly defined but essentially refers to elements of epistemological nature. Moreover, the few examples of activities based on HS suggested by the programs and science textbooks are means to learn scientific content and convey a reductive and false image of the nature of science (NoS). Our main issue is to examine the possibility to communicate a more authentic image of NoS with HS. We begin by demonstrating how our historical and epistemological analysis led us to distinguish different learning goals about NoS. We then show how these goals can generate classroom activities involving collective inquiry based on the implementation of documents. These documents may or may not be paired with experiments. Finally, we discuss the tensions that our choices created with science curricula and among teachers.     

Pendula,Models, Constructivism and Reality

It is argued that Galileo made an important breakthroughin the methodology of science by considering idealizedmodels of phenomena such as free fall, swinging pendulaand the like, which can conflict with experience. Theidealized models are constructs largely by our reasoningprocesses applied to the theoretical situation at hand. Onthis view, scientific knowledge is not a construction out ofexperience, as many constructivists claim about both themethods of science and about the learning of science. Infact Galileo's models can, depending on their degree ofidealization or concretization, be at variance with experience.This paper considers what is meant by idealization andconcretization of both the objects and properties that makeup theoretical models, and the ideal laws that govern them.It also provides brief illustrations of ideal laws and how theymay be made more concrete, and briefly considers howtheories and models might be tested against what we observe.Finally some difficulties are raised for a radical constructivistapproach to both science and learning in the light of Galileo'smethodological approach. The upshot is that both the dialoguestructure of Galileo's writings and his method of model buildingprovide a rich resource for science education that rivals that of thestandard varieties of constructivism, and at the same time gives amuch better picture of the actual procedures of science itself.