Background: Although cutting-edge chemistry research can be an interesting and motivating context for students in pre-university education, few characteristics of supportive and effective learning materials based on such contexts are available. Purpose: In this study we investigated the design, implementation, and evaluation of context-based…

Background: One of the most important, albeit ignored, issues in the process of curriculum implementation is teachers' beliefs; indeed, this is a vital issue since their beliefs about teaching and learning will in part govern their actions in the classroom. There is a substantial body of the literature that highlights how teachers' beliefs are…

Background: Many students have incomplete or incorrect perceptions of science and scientists. These simplified images, mediated by media or influential agents of socialisation, result in common stereotypes. Especially for occupational choices it is important to convey an authentic image about science and scientists. Purpose: One manner to convey…

Background: Despite the growing body of research on self-efficacy, previous studies have failed to clarify exactly how it is constructed. Meanwhile, the literature indicates that, in Taiwan, junior high school students tend to show lower self-efficacy in learning science compared with elementary and senior high school students. Purpose: This study…

Background: Understanding pre-service science teachers' (PSTs) perceived knowledge on a subject and teaching that subject is important to better prepare these teachers for their future career. Purpose: In this study, PSTs' perceived Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) on genetics and the contribution of the dimensions of perceived…

Background: This study investigates the role of figures of speech in the process of conceptual change in the physics classroom. Purpose: Its objectives are to examine what teachers and students perceive to be the advantages in using figures of speech in teaching physics concepts, what they perceive to be the challenges in using them, and how…

Background: Global climate change (GCC) has become one of the most debated socio-scientific issues after an increase in media attention. Recently, there have also been several studies describing students' and teachers' alternative conceptions about GCC. Therefore, designing learning environments at the college level that focus on accurate…

Background: Inquiry learning in science provides authentic and relevant contexts in which students can create knowledge to solve problems, make decisions and find solutions to issues in today's world. The use of electronic networks can facilitate this interaction, dialogue and sharing, and adds a new dimension to classroom pedagogy. Purpose: This…

Background: Argumentation is accepted by many science educators as a major component of science education. Many studies have investigated students' conceptual understanding and their engagement in argumentative activities. However, studies conducted in the subject of chemistry are very rare. Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the…

This research presents a multiple case study investigating the personal frameworks of pre-service science teachers as they experience a science in society course. Through examining the metaphors employed by the participants' student experiences were illuminated. These experiences revealed shifts in frameworks over time that were more consistent…

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between Turkish high school students' perceptions of their science teachers' interpersonal behaviour and their attitudes towards science. Students' perceptions of the teacher-student interpersonal relationship were mapped with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), which uses two…

The purpose of this study is to explore students' self-regulation and teachers' influence in science and to examine interplay between ethnicity and gender. Analysis of data from seven Oslo schools (1112 sampled students in the first year of high school) shows that the ethnic minority students reported using learning strategies in science more…

This paper reports on part of a large-scale study aimed at examining students' perceptions of assessment. This paper will report on a study utilising mixed methodology in 150 Australian middle school classrooms. The purpose of the study described in this paper was to use the Students' Perceptions of Assessment Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction…

Conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by three cohorts of postgraduate students starting a secondary science teacher-training course (N = 123). Qualitative responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of categories to capture features of sustainable development; (ii) scrutiny of individual…

Teaching and learning science through the use of familiar contexts has been advocated for several decades. Many take the use of context in science lessons to mean the use of resource materials that involve common scenarios or themes, or activities. This paper reviews a lesson identified by a teacher as a lesson taught in context. The data…