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ERIC Number: EJ1082152
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
The Influence of Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform on Students' Perceptions of Their Quantitative Skills
Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn
International Journal of Science Education, v37 n16 p2619-2636 2015
In this study, the Science Student Skills Inventory was used to gain understanding of student perceptions about their quantitative skills and compare perceptions of cohorts graduating before and after the implementation of a new science curriculum intent on developing quantitative skills. The study involved 600 responses from final-year undergraduate science students across four cohorts in an Australian research-intensive institution. Students rated their perceptions on a four-point Likert scale of: the importance of developing quantitative skills within the programme, how much they improved their quantitative skills throughout their undergraduate science programme, how much they saw quantitative skills included in the programme, how confident they were about their quantitative skills, and how much they believe they will use quantitative skills in the future. Descriptive statistics indicated overall low levels of perceptions with student perception of the importance of quantitative skills being greater than perceptions of improvement, inclusion in the programme, confidence, and future use. Statistical analysis of responses provided by the cohorts graduating before and after the new quantitative skills-intended curriculum revealed few differences. The cohorts graduating after implementation indicated that quantitative skills were included more in the curriculum, although this did not translate into them reporting higher levels of confidence or anticipated future use compared to the cohorts that graduated before the new curriculum was implemented. Implications for curriculum development are discussed and lines for further research are given.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A