Nine secondary school teachers participated in a five day training program where they developed inquiry-based pedagogical interventions for their science classes. Student interest and self-concept in school science and technology were measured before and after the interventions. Increases in interest and self-concept were compared with the results…

The Irish education system is unique in an international context as it sets aside a full school year for a transition and youth development programme in the middle of secondary education. The Transition Year (TY) programme is an optional, full time programme offered in the majority of secondary schools. Each school designs its own programme,…

A DVD resource that provided a scientist's perspective on the use of animals in research and teaching was evaluated with a questionnaire that asked students' views pre and post their access to the resource. Thirty-nine secondary students (Y10-Y13) took part in three different teaching programmes that provided information about animal research and…

Students bring with them their own misconceptions to the science classes and it becomes a barrier in developing new concepts. Therefore, identifying misconceptions is an essential component in teaching science. The objective of this study was to identify 10th grade students' misconceptions on plant transport with the use of two-tier diagnostic…

The conflicts between nature and nurture are brought to the fore and challenges socio-scientific decision-making in science education. The multitude of meanings of these concepts and their roles in societal discourses can impede students' development of understanding for different perspectives, e.g. on gene technology. This study problematizes…

This paper reports on a Mixed Methods study involving an investigation into the attitudes of advanced level biology teachers towards assessment and describes the teachers' experiences while being engaged in Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices such as sharing of learning objectives and peer- and self-assessment. Quantitative data were collected…

The purpose of this survey study was to examine the level of Malaysian students' motivation with regards to the learning of Physics at the secondary school level, and its influencing factors. The study was carried out on 337 Form Four students who took Physics as a subject, from six schools in a northern state of Malaysia--three from urban areas,…