Motivation in high school science students: A comparison of gender differences in life,physical, and earth science classes

The aims of this study were to examine self‐efficacy and other motivation variables among high school science students (n = 502); to determine the degree to which each of the four hypothesized sources of self‐efficacy makes an independent contribution to students' science self‐efficacy beliefs; to examine possible differences between life, physical, and Earth science classes; and to investigate patterns of gender differences that may vary among the fields of science. In Earth science classes, girls earned higher grades and reported stronger science self‐efficacy. In life science classes, girls earned higher grades but did not report stronger self‐efficacy, and did report higher science anxiety. In physical science, there were no gender differences in grades or self‐efficacy, but girls again reported higher levels of science anxiety. For boys across science fields, science self‐efficacy significantly predicted course grades and mastery experiences was the only significant predictor of self‐efficacy. For girls, self‐efficacy was also the strongest predictor of science grade across fields. Mastery experiences significantly predicted self‐efficacy in Earth science for girls, but social persuasions, vicarious experiences, and physiological states were better predictors of science self‐efficacy in life and physical science classes. Results support (Bandura, A., 1997) hypothesized sources of self‐efficacy, previous research findings on self‐efficacy in the domain of science, and validate the suggestion made by Lau and Roeser (2002) to disaggregate data by science field. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 955–970, 2008     

Early life stress and behavior problems in early childhood: Investigating the contributions of child temperament and executive functions to resilience

This preregistered study examined whether child temperament and executive functions moderated the longitudinal association between early life stress (ELS) and behavior problems. In a Dutch population-based cohort (n = 2803), parents reported on multiple stressors (age 0–6 years), child temperament (age 5), and executive functions (age 4), and teachers rated child internalizing and externalizing problems (age 7). Results showed that greater ELS was related to higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems, with betas reflecting small effects. Lower surgency buffered the positive association of ELS with externalizing problems, while better shifting capacities weakened the positive association between ELS and internalizing problems. Other child characteristics did not act as moderators. Findings underscore the importance of examining multiple protective factors simultaneously.     

Should great lakes city build a new power plant? How youth navigate socioscientific issues

There is a growing consensus that simply learning enough science to decipher public debates on socioscientific issues will not make citizens better equipped to handle the complex and ill‐structured problems these controversial issues present. This study highlights the interaction and complex interplay between youth authored and appropriated frames for making sense of socioscientific issues. To do so, we analyze how two middle‐school aged youth, in an after‐school program focused on green energy technologies, made sense of and took a stance on whether their city should build a new hybrid power plant over the course of a 13‐week unit. Using critical sociocultural perspectives on learning and qualitative case study, we examined how the two youth navigated the issue and the resources, scientific and otherwise, they leveraged in defining the problem spaces involved in whether their city should build a new power plant. Our findings indicate that the scientific knowledge youth brought with them and acquired over the course of the investigation influenced how they made sense of the issue, but their knowledge was deeply connected to a range of personal and public discourses that influenced how they defined the issue and why it mattered to them. In particular, it was through how they framed their range of knowledge and experiences that they were able to recognize the multi‐dimensional nature of the problem and propose complex solutions resonant with the science they understood. Our study offers conceptual tools for teaching and learning socioscientific issues. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 541–567, 2012