Little attention has been given to understanding motivational profiles among gifted students. Instead, much research suggests that gifted individuals are highly motivated and homogenous in their motivations. We clarified this by identifying four distinct profiles among gifted Year 9 and 10 students (N = 414) in science: Low Motivation, Low…

Inquiry-based learning has been widely applied in the classroom. Different inquiry learning models may have different orders of performing tasks and discussing. In this study, the Discuss-Do (D-DO) inquiry model and the Do-Discuss (DO-D) inquiry model were applied in the science learning of two groups of fifth-grade students. Group 1 (n = 41) used…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has undergone immense transformation since the discovery of oil in the late 1950s, and the educational sector has seen vivid reform. The UAE government is increasingly seeking diversification of its economy and, as a result, the country's goals heavily emphasise education in the development of its Knowledge Economy.…

Seen as one of the essential domains for active citizenship, examining how students relate to science has become crucial. Based on a person-centered approach, this article investigates self-related dispositions and motivation in science using the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data set. By employing a latent profile…

In this study, the Integrated Scale of Technology Use in Physics (ISTUP) was developed to determine students' frequency of technology use, their perceptions about the effects of technology use on physics interest and achievement, and their preferences of technological tools and applications in learning physics. The scale was administered two…

This paper presents the findings of a three-year longitudinal study (Grades 9-11; N = 756 students in German secondary schools; mean starting age = 14.7 years) that explores the development of and the interplay between upper-secondary students' individual interest and conceptual understanding in chemistry. Students' individual interest was…

Finland and Singapore are both top-performing countries in international assessments such as PISA. Finland has been consistently one of the high-achievers regarding not only students' literacy levels but also educational equity. Similarly, Singapore has continuously shown outstanding performance in PISA. It outperformed all the other participants…

The current study aimed to determine and predict 12th-grade students' physics achievement in terms of some selected cognitive, physics-related effective, personal, and socioeconomic characteristics in Turkey. Four hundred and ninety-six students (273 female and 223 male) from 18 high schools formed the study group. Findings indicated that…

This article describes the results of a study into students' experiences of independent research project work in science. Independent research projects are projects in which students are supervised (usually by a teacher, scientist or both) to work independently on a scientific problem or question over an extended period. We collected data from 39…

Since students have lost their interest in school science, several student-centered approaches, such as using topics that are relevant for students, inquiry-based learning, and discussion-based learning have been implemented to attract pupils into science. However, the effect of these approaches was usually measured in small-scale research, and…

U.S. national data show that American Indians earn lower math and science scores than other ethnic/racial groups. In the current study, a brief, self-affirmation intervention was aimed at increasing science motivational beliefs in American Indian middle school students (n = 212, M[subscript age] = 12.7 years). Students, each read a biography of a…

Students' interest in science declines substantially in the transition from elementary to secondary education. Using students' ratings of their instruction on the topic of evaporation and condensation, we examined if changes in instructional practices accounted for differences in situational interest in science instruction and enduring individual…

With all the debate over school reform and Common Core, the issue of science performance among students that attend low performing school continues to be overlooked. These students may have developed the perception that science is either boring, too hard, or they have no interest in science due to mediocre experiences within the classroom, poor…

During the 2014-2015 academic year, 1,148 students registered and 820 elementary, middle, and high-school students played the New Digital Energy Game (NDE) game in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The NDE game was designed to enrich students' science experiences in order to stimulate their interests and attitudes to pursue science…

The perceived influence of college club in increasing students' interest and achievement in Nigerian post-primary schools in Anambra State was studied using a survey research design. The population of the study comprised all senior secondary school science students in Anambra State totaling 9322 as at 2007. From this population, a sample of 140…