Promoting understanding of the epistemologies of science has long been the primary objective in science education, and can be viewed as a form of science learning outcome. Many studies have attempted to understand learners' conceptions of epistemology in science from various perspectives and methods; however, no recent reviews have focused on the…

Despite efforts to increase teaching of biotechnology worldwide, there are concerns that public literacy of genetic technologies remains insufficient. Improved education strategies are expected to empower individuals to make informed decisions about biotechnology. To evaluate the teaching and learning of this complex topic, qualitative assessment…

This study questions the presumed relation between formal schooling and scientific literacy about biotechnologies. Comparing science and nonscience majors' knowledge of and attitudes toward biotechnological applications, conclusions are drawn if their formal learnings improve pupils' understandings of and attitudes toward biotechnology…

Information literate students with a good understanding of science are regarded as an important pool of future successful professionals. The study explored correlations between the information literacy (IL) and scientific literacy (SL) of university students and analysed their achievements according to Bloom's cognitive categories of remembering,…

The purpose of this study is to reveal preservice science teachers' perceptions related to the sun, star, comet and constellation concepts. The research was carried out by 56 preservice science teachers (4th grade) at Kastamonu University taking astronomy course in 2014-2015 academic year. For data collection open-ended questions that required…

Photosynthesis is the most important biochemical process on Earth. Most living beings depend on it directly or indirectly. Knowledge about photosynthesis enables us to understand how the world functions as an ecosystem and how photosynthesis acts as a bridge between the non-living and living worlds. It is, therefore, understandable that…

This study compares the scientific and alternative conceptions of energy and momentum of university first-year science students in Ethiopia and the US. Written data were collected using the Energy and Momentum Conceptual Survey developed by Singh and Rosengrant. The Concentration Analysis statistical method was used for analysing the Ethiopian…

Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers' understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on…

The purpose of this study was to explore Pre-service Elementary Science Teachers' (PSTs) conceptual understanding of Particulate Nature of Matter (PNM) through a three-tier diagnostic test. Participants were 215 PSTs from Turkey. Data consisted of participants' responses to the Particulate Nature of Matter Test (PNMT). The PNMT consists of…

Research has suggested that teaching and learning in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) is difficult. We used a new lens to understand undergraduate reasoning about molecular mechanisms: the knowledge-integration approach to conceptual change. Knowledge integration is the dynamic process by which learners acquire new ideas, develop connections…

Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster…

Using two rounds in 2003 and 2013 of large sample longitudinal surveys of science teachers in primary schools from 21 provinces and autonomous regions of China, results suggest that Chinese teachers' basic scientific literacy was still low with only a slight increase in the procedural knowledge of science. The evidence also suggests little…

The study investigates the relationship between pre-service teachers' scientific literacy (SL) and their environmental literacy (EL). It also seeks significant differences in SL at different levels of a tendency towards life-long learning (LLT). With the world facing critical environmental problems, an interdisciplinary approach to teaching…

This study investigated eighth-grade science students' (13-14-year-olds) perceptions of their vocabulary knowledge, learning, and content achievement. Data sources included pre- and posttest of students' perceptions of vocabulary knowledge, students' perceptions of vocabulary and reading strategies surveys, and a content achievement test.…

Background: The results of international studies have concluded the low level of science literacy in natural science subjects of Slovak students. These studies also showed that this state can be positively influenced by various innovations, which are implemented into the teaching process of above-mentioned subjects. Purpose: The aim of this study…