Perception of Teacher,Home Support and Achievement in Attitudes towards Science

This study investigated the relationships of attitudes towards science with perception of the science teacher, home support and science achievement among a sample of Secondary Two (8th Grade) students. Using the full LISREL model, it was found that the perception of the science teacher was the most significant factor in the development of positive attitudes towards science. Achievement in science was also a significant factor for both girls and boys. Home support was, however, a significant factor for girls but not for boys.     

Development of a Framework for Analysing Mathematical Problem Solving Behaviours

The taxonomy described in this paper was developed to investigate the process of mathematical problem solving in terms of definable behaviours. It was also used as an instrument to classify and encode behaviours in their sequence of observed occurrence during the process of mathematical problem solving. It is a behavioural analysis framework formulated to examine the “thinking-aloud” protocols of individuals for comprehensive information about the problem solving process itself, the individual differences in the behaviours of subjects and the strategies applied by each in dealing with non-routine mathematical problems.     

Students’ Argumentation Skills across Two Socio-Scientific Issues in a Confucian Classroom: Is transfer possible?

This paper argues the possible simultaneous development and transfer of students' argumentation skills from one socio-scientific issue to another in a Confucian classroom. In Malaysia, the Chinese vernacular schools follow a strict Confucian philosophy in the teaching and learning process. The teacher talks and the students listen. This case study explored the transfer of argumentation skills across two socio-scientific issues in such a Form 2 (8th grade) classroom. An instructional support to complement the syllabus was utilised. The teaching approach in the instructional support was more constructivist in nature and designed to introduce argumentation skills which is uncommon in a Confucian classroom. The two socio-scientific issues were genetically modified foods and deforestation. This paper presents a part of the bigger case study that was conducted. Data collected from written arguments were analysed using an analytical framework built upon Toulmin's ideas. The whole class analysis indicated progression in students' argumentation skills in their ability to give more valid grounds and rebuttals during the transfer. The individual analysis suggests progression in the majority of students' performance, while several students demonstrated non-progression when they faced a different socio-scientific issue.     

Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition among Preservice Teachers

This study attempts to survey the different levels of job satisfaction among 350 preservice teachers who had experienced their first teaching practicum at the end of their first year of training. Four scales for job satisfaction (perception of the work environment, intrinsic reward, career prospects and career commitment) and a scale for withdrawal cognition were administered to the preservice teachers. A study of their attitude profiles revealed that a high proportion of the preservice teachers experienced negative feelings about various aspects of career prospects, particularly, salary and career advancement. In the area of career commitment, nearly 37% of the trainees felt that the teaching profession was not always their ambition. Despite the less‐than‐expected commitment level and perception of career prospects, trainees had positive feelings for the work environment and intrinsic reward for the profession in many aspects. A multiple‐regression model fitted to the data gave the result that perception of career prospects and career commitment were highly significant predictors of withdrawal cognition.     

Mapping Curriculum Innovation in STEM Schools to Assessment Requirements: Tensions and Dilemmas

Specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools create niche areas in an attempt to attract the best students, establish the school status, and justify their privilege to valuable resources. One Singapore STEM school does this in applied science learning to differentiate its curriculum from the national prescribed curriculum. Reflecting on the issues of curriculum innovation from the perspective of a teacher and head of department in this school, the second author discusses the constraints in curriculum innovation in a specialized school context embedded within a larger system of the national curriculum. We reflect on her experiences in designing, planning, writing, and implementing applied science courses and the challenges in having to simultaneously address the standardized assessment guidelines.     

Anxiety and Mathematics Performance in Female Secondary School Students in Singapore

This is an exploratory study conducted on mathematics anxiety, test anxiety and some interpersonal correlates with mathematics achievement of a sample of 206 Secondary Four female students from a Singapore school. Spielbergers' (1977) Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales (Fennema-Sherman, 1976) were the instruments us ed. Some significant findings are: high mathematics anxiety is associated with low mathematics achievement and so is high test anxiety with low mathematics achievement. However, for the most capable students, test anxiety seems to act as a facilitator in their mathematics performance. Of the three interpersonal variables explored, students' scores on the perception of their mathematics teachers have the strongest correlation with their mathematics anxiety scores.