ERIC Number: EJ925366
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
An Investigation of Students' Personality Traits and Attitudes toward Science
Hong, Zuway-R.; Lin, Huann-shyang
International Journal of Science Education, v33 n7 p1001-1028 2011
The purposes of this study were to validate an instrument of attitudes toward science and to investigate grade level, type of school, and gender differences in Taiwan's students' personality traits and attitudes toward science as well as predictors of attitudes toward science. Nine hundred and twenty-two elementary students and 1,954 secondary students completed the School Student Questionnaire in 2008. Factor analyses, correlation analyses, ANOVAs, and regressions were used to compare the similarities and differences among male and female students in different grade levels. The findings were as follows: female students had higher interest in science and made more contributions in teams than their male counterparts across all grade levels. As students advanced through school, student scores on the personality trait scales of Conscientiousness and Openness sharply declined; students' scores on Neuroticism dramatically increased. Elementary school and academic high school students had significantly higher total scores on interest in science than those of vocational high and junior high school students. Scores on the scales measuring the traits of Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness were the most significant predictors of students' attitudes toward science. Implications of these findings for classroom instruction are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Personality Traits, Student Attitudes, Science Interests, Foreign Countries, Gender Differences, Junior High School Students, High School Students, Test Validity, Psychometrics, Institutional Characteristics, Elementary School Students, Predictor Variables, Factor Analysis, Correlation, Comparative Analysis, Scores, Vocational Education, Science Instruction, Questionnaires, Interviews, Test Construction, Age Differences
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: Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Junior 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