ERIC Number: EJ993379
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Development of an Attitude Scale to Assess K-12 Teachers' Attitudes toward Nanotechnology
Lan, Yu-Ling
International Journal of Science Education, v34 n8 p1189-1210 2012
To maximize the contributions of nanotechnology to this society, at least 60 countries have put efforts into this field. In Taiwan, a government-funded K-12 Nanotechnology Programme was established to train K-12 teachers with adequate nanotechnology literacy to foster the next generation of Taiwanese people with sufficient knowledge in nanotechnology. In the present study, the Nanotechnology Attitude Scale for K-12 teachers (NAS-T) was developed to assess K-12 teachers' attitudes toward nanotechnology. The NAS-T included 23 Likert-scale items that can be grouped into three components: importance of nanotechnology, affective tendencies in science teaching, and behavioural tendencies to teach nanotechnology. A sample of 233 K-12 teachers who have participated in the K-12 Nanotechnology Programme was included in the present study to investigate the psychometric properties of the NAS-T. The exploratory factor analysis of this teacher sample suggested that the NAS-T was a three-factor model that explained 64.11% of the total variances. This model was also confirmed by the confirmatory factor analysis to validate the factor structure of the NAS-T. The Cronbach's alpha values of three NAS-T subscales ranged from 0.89 to 0.95. Moderate to strong correlations among teachers' NAS-T domain scores, self-perception of own nanoscience knowledge, and their science-teaching efficacy demonstrated good convergent validity of the NAS-T. As a whole, psychometric properties of the NAS-T indicated that this instrument is an effective instrument for assessing K-12 teachers' attitudes toward nanotechnology. The NAS-T will serve as a valuable tool to evaluate teachers' attitude changes after participating in the K-12 Nanotechnology Programme. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 2 notes.)
Descriptors: Factor Analysis, Validity, Foreign Countries, Psychometrics, Elementary Secondary Education, Factor Structure, Teacher Attitudes, Molecular Structure, Technology, Interdisciplinary Approach, Technological Advancement, Science Education, Science Instruction, Likert Scales, Correlation, Teachers, Professional Development, Scientific Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Attitude Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A