A curriculum is generally regarded as an instructional plan that describes what, why and how students should learn. In this comparative study, we analysed the Czech and Slovak intended curricula of science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and geology) and mathematics by comparing their national curriculum documents in terms of…

Understanding the nature of science (NOS) is an important goal of science education, and textbooks are a key factor in shaping students' conceptions of NOS. In this study, we analysed NOS represented in middle school chemistry textbooks in the Chinese mainland. The selected materials were three most commonly adopted textbook series, which were…

The impact of self-regulated learning (SRL) on students' performance in various subjects has been extensively studied. However, there has been limited research on how task-specific SRL skills and self-reported SRL skills affect students' learning outcomes in chemistry classes at senior secondary schools. To address this gap, we examined the…

In this longitudinal study, we investigate how demographic, cognitive and meta-cognitive variables affect students' success in chemistry and physics exams in two Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics undergraduate courses, biology and engineering. Independent variables include high school final examination performance, chemistry and physics…

Students' interest is considered an important learning outcome, but it is also a relevant predictor for student learning, and future vocational choices. According to numerous studies, however, students' interest in STEM fields usually declines during the course of secondary education. From the perspective of science education, it is therefore…

Evaluating and improving instructional quality is important in pre-service teacher education, given it is a crucial factor for students' learning gains. This process is complex and involves multiple classroom events with various interpretations. Criteria for instructional quality are rarely applied systematically in teacher education, leading to…

Food, cooking, and eating are commonly used as contexts or legitimations to teach and communicate science. However, for teaching to have contextual credibility, the relationship between subject and context is a relevant area of study. The present contribution describes an analysis of curricula from three Nordic countries shedding light on…

In this study, we present a new instrument, the Participation and Engagement Scale (PES), for the evaluation of the students' involvement in STEM-oriented activities. The instrument was administered to about 1000 secondary school students who participated in the activities of the Italian "Piano Nazionale Lauree Scientifiche" in Biology,…

This study describes the development, validity, and reliability processes of a scientific creativity test for pre-university students, specifically in chemistry. A Chemistry Scientific Creativity Test (CSCT) was constructed based on an analysis of the Scientific Creativity Structure Model (SCSM), Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and…

Chemistry-related courses cover a wide range of disciplines focusing on the application of Chemistry. The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting student's future intention to enroll in chemistry-related courses in the Philippines. A total of 953 senior high school students from the Philippines answered an online questionnaire…

The study of questions has occupied a prominent role in the research into classroom discourse. For science teaching, questions are fundamental since they can connect students with the patterns of scientific thinking. In this article, we developed analytical tools to investigate the epistemic dimension of questions in chemistry teaching. We draw…

The study aims to investigate students' conceptualisation of the quantum numbers concept through their verbal descriptions and pictorial representations of the corresponding atomic structures. The study was conducted with the participation of 192 12th-grade students from six secondary schools in Northern Greece, via a paper-and-pencil test,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of pre-service chemistry teachers' (PCTs') argumentation skills in a laboratory course throughout a semester. A case study design was utilised. A total of six PCTs participated in the study. To investigate the development of PCTs' argumentation skills, the laboratory reports that were in…

This study aims at investigating students' awareness of green chemistry principles (GCPs) which are infused in two context-based projects that are related to socio-scientific issues, namely climate change and materials' recycling. At first, content analysis of the projects' activities showed the infusion of four GCPs. Subsequently, the students'…

This study took 'context' as a focal point in the context-based approach and its investigation was anchored on an analytical framework, which is composed of three dimensions of context: origins, intentions, and occasions. Content analysis was employed as the research methodology with 878 contexts identified from 96 copies of awarded chemistry…