In the socioscientific issues (SSI) classroom, students need to cross the border between the subcultures of science (i.e., school science vs. everyday science). Traditional school contexts tend to present science as positivistic knowledge and unshakable truth unaffected by sociocultural factors. In contrast, everyday science, including SSI, is…

The aim of the present study is to enable future studies into students' attitudes toward science, and related constructs, by developing and validating an instrument suitable for cross-sectional designs. Following a thorough review of the literature it was determined that many extant instruments included design aspects that appeared to be limited…

For over a century, genetic arguments for the existence of racial inequality have been used to oppose policies that promote social equality. And, over that same time period, American biology textbooks have repeatedly discussed genetic differences between races. This experiment tests whether racial terminology in the biology curriculum causes…

Individuals are at an increased risk to drop out of the STEM pipeline if they are female or Latino, and during certain periods including high school. Families are a potential untapped resource of support for high school students. Based on the expectancy-value model, we examined if a variety of parental behaviors predicted students' ability…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate the changes in high school students' perceptions of fluency with innovative technologies (IT) and the levels of students' scientific inquiry abilities as a result of engaging students in long-term scientific research projects focusing on community-based environmental issues. Over a span of…

This study explores the relationship between affective and cognitive variables in grade 9 chemistry students (n = 73). In particular, it explores how students' situational interest, their attitudes toward chemistry, and their chemistry-specific self-concept influence their understanding of chemistry concepts over the course of a school year. All…

This study was designed to identify and analyze possible factors that mediate the effect of gender on ninth-grade Turkish students' misconceptions concerning electric circuits. A Simple Electric Circuit Concept Test (SECCT), including items with both practical and theoretical contexts, and an Interest-Experience Questionnaire about Electricity…

Describes an in-school intervention project that used female role models to change the attitudes of 964 Iowa girls and boys in 57 ninth-grade science classes toward science, math, and technical curricula and careers. Results indicated that attitudes of girls and boys who participated in the study improved more than attitudes of girls and boys in…

Examines the relationship between high school students' perceptions of their science learning environments and their motivation, learning strategies, and achievement. Discusses the focus of shared perceptions and instruction and indicates that shared perceptions focused on understanding and independent thinking positively predicted students'…

Describes the personal thoughts, or everyday thinking, of high school science students about a question relevant to science: What is Nature? Finds that a rich breadth of perspectives typically characterized any one student's discussion of Nature, though the level of science integration within everyday thinking remained low. Contains 116…

Examines the perception of the learning environment among different subgroups of students within science classes. Identifies variables that can promote effective science-learning environments for all students. Compares the perceptions of male and female students and of black and white students in the same class. Contains 41 references. (DDR)

Effects on students' (N=44) achievement and attitudes of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic instruction were compared in ninth-grade physical science classes. Results indicate that cooperative learning experiences promoted mastery and retention of material being taught as well as moreover positive attitudes toward the experience than…

This study investigated the influence of two different explicit instructional approaches in promoting more informed understandings of nature of science (NOS) among students. Participants, a total of 42 students, comprised two groups in two intact sections of ninth grade. Participants in the two groups were taught environmental science by their…