This study investigated 438 Year 10 students (15 and 16 years old) from Western Australian schools, on their understanding of the greenhouse effect and climate change, and the sources of their information. Results showed that most students have an understanding of how the greenhouse effect works, however, many students merge the processes of the…

Increasingly, children today are becoming disconnected from the natural environments resulting in a diminished sense of self, place and community. In an attempt to find out their perceptions, attitudes and values about the natural world, twenty-five Year 6 and 7 students from a northern Adelaide primary school participated in a nature-play case…

International assessments of student science achievement, and growing evidence of students' waning interest in school science, have ensured that the development of scientific literacy continues to remain an important educational priority (Tytler, 2007). Consequently, researchers and classroom teachers alike have called for innovative approaches to…

In 2007, a new upper secondary course, Earth and Environmental Science (EES) was introduced in Western Australia. The development and implementation of the course was supported by Earth Science Western Australia (ESWA), a consortium of universities, the CSIRO and other organisations. The role of ESWA is to support the teaching of earth science in…

In recent years, the numbers of girls in secondary and tertiary education studying Physics have declined. This research sought to investigate Years 10 and 11 female students' views about Physics and their physics teachers and was conducted in an all-girls independent school. While the findings show that in general these students do not relate well…

Many students arrive at high school with enthusiasm for learning Science but by Year 9 some students have become disengaged with Science as a subject. In an attempt to find out the reasons for this, thirty-five Year 9 students from five South Australian secondary schools participated in focus group discussions. This research unearthed a number of…

"Glimpses of Science" is the outcome of collaboration between the University of New South Wales and four primary schools in the Sydney metropolitan region. A prototype kit on the topic of sound was developed and demonstrated by the team. This kit formed the basis for further science activities to be designed and produced in conjunction…

Involving students in authentic science work is one way to enhance their interest in science. This paper reports a project in which Year 4-7 students actively participated in a study that involved the provision of a suitable nesting site for local turtles. The students collected data on turtle nests at the site and evidence of turtle hatchlings at…

Science in rural and remote schools has received unenviable press around the world. The political and administrative spotlight has fallen on the inadequate physical resources available to rural schools (Hawkes, Halverson and Brockmueller, 2002), inadequate professional development (Howley, Chadwick and Howley, 2002), and the problems…

With research consistently showing that students can be motivated to learn with ICT, this case study sought to investigate Year 7 students' learning about simple machines in an ICT-enhanced environment where they could self-direct their own learning with minimal intervention from the teacher. The study is focused on how well do students and…

Of concern is an international trend of students' increasing reluctance to choose science courses in both their final years of secondary school and tertiary levels of education. Research into the phenomenon indicates an influencing factor to be the "uninteresting curriculum" (OECD, 2006) of school science. This article presents an…