ERIC Number: EJ1117235
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Students' Awareness of Science Teachers' Leadership, Attitudes toward Science, and Positive Thinking
Lu, Ying-Yan; Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Hong, Zuway-R.; Yore, Larry D.
International Journal of Science Education, v38 n13 p2174-2196 2016
There appears to be a complex network of cognitive and affective factors that influence students' decisions to study science and motivate their choices to engage in science-oriented careers. This study explored 330 Taiwanese senior high school students' awareness of their science teacher's learning leadership and how it relates to the students' attitudes toward science and positive thinking. Initial results revealed that the "optimism" of positive thinking is highly and positively correlated with the "future participation" in "science" and "learning science in school" attitudes toward science and "self-concept in science." Moreover, structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated that the subscale of teachers' "leadership with idealised influence" was the most predictive of students' "attitudes toward science" (ß = 0.37), and the leadership with "laissez-faire" was predictive of students' "positive thinking" (ß = 0.21). In addition, the interview results were consistent with the quantitative findings. The correlation and SEM results indicate some of the associations and potential relationships amongst the motivational and affective factors studied and students' attitudes toward and intentions to study science, which will increase their likelihood of future involvement in science careers.
Descriptors: Self Concept, Science Teachers, Teacher Leadership, Positive Attitudes, Structural Equation Models, Student Attitudes, Correlation, Affective Behavior, Interviews, Decision Making, Science Interests, Teacher Student Relationship, Science Careers, Career Choice, Student Motivation, Foreign Countries, High School Students, Secondary School Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A