Background: Cognitive conflict has been identified as an important factor for bringing about students' conceptual change. Researchers draw attention to the need to study not only cognitive factors related to cognitive conflict but affective factors as well. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of cognitive…

Background: The research on which this article is based was commissioned because of concerns about perceived shortages of willing and able young people choosing to study physics at university. Purpose: This article reports on first year physics undergraduates' narratives of why they are studying physics and uses these narratives to identify…

Background and Purpose: Research in nature of science (NOS) among Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore is arguably scarce. This study aimed to survey Singaporean secondary school students' views of NOS with a newly developed instrument named Students' Views of Nature of Science (SVNOS), which included various key aspects of NOS that…

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle (HPD-LC), conceptual change text (CCT) and traditional instruction on 10th grade students' understanding of genetics concepts. Sample: Participants were 112 10th basic grade male students in three…

Background: The population of Mauritius consists of 52% females and scientific literacy is seen to be of vital importance for all young people if they are to be sufficiently equipped to meet the challenges of a fast changing world. Previous research shows, however, that science is not popular among girls. This paper explores one of many reasons…

Background: Science teachers need a deep understanding of how science works in modern society. Purpose: This article reports a case study investigating the ways in which a short-term in-service course on a research site of space technology contributes to this understanding. Design and method: The study is performed in three steps: an evaluation…

Background and purpose: This study details the use of a conceptual framework to analyze prospective teachers' images of scientists to reveal their context-specific conceptions of scientists. The conceptual framework consists of context-specific conceptions related to positive, stereotypical and negative images of scientists as detailed in the…

Background: This study combines work on concept mapping with scripted collaborative learning. Purpose: The objective was to examine the effects of self-regulated science learning through scripting students' argumentative interactions during collaborative "multimedia-enriched skeleton concept mapping" on meaningful science learning and retention.…

Background and purpose: Knowing how students learn physics is a central goal of physics education. The major purpose of this study is to examine the strength of the predictive power of students' epistemic views and conceptions of learning in terms of their approaches to learning in physics. Sample, design and method: A total of 279 Taiwanese high…

Background: This study developed from observations of apparent achievement differences between male and female chemistry performances in a state university entrance examination. Male students performed more strongly than female students, especially in higher scores. Apart from the gender of the students, two other important factors that might…

Background: Reform recommendations around the world call for an understanding about the nature of science and the work of scientists. However, related research findings provide evidence that students hold stereotypical views of scientists and the nature of their work. Purpose: The aim of this case study was to examine the impact of an intervention…

Background: Studies exploring the relationship between students' achievement and the quality of the classroom learning environments have shown that there is a strong relationship between these two concepts. Learning environment instruments are constantly being revised and updated, including for use in different cultures, which requires continued…

Background: The importance of increasing the number of US college students completing degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) has prompted calls for research to provide a better understanding of factors related to student participation in these majors, including the impact of a student's high-school mathematics…

Background and purpose: This paper reports on part of an ongoing research project in England concerning the Nature of Science (NOS). The particular focus is on the initial thinking of the graduate scientists starting a one-year, Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course and the way the course approaches adopted influence their views and…

Background: Children are not blank slates when they begin school; they bring prior conceptions about the everyday world with them. These conceptions usually do not comply with accepted scientific views and have to be changed within the process of education. However, to do this effectively more needs to be known about the relationship between the…