Attitudes towards science

Abstract

Form 1 and Form 2 students' attitudes towards science were studied by means of a self-completion questionnaire. Two different attitude measurement scales were utilised in the questionnaire: the Likert Scale and the Osgood Differential Scale. The items of the questionnaire were chosen after students were asked to write freely about science, some of their phrases were turned into items, pilot tested and selected on the basis of high discrimination power. The sample consisted of 374 students from eight different randomly chosen schools, and stratified by gender, by Form (Forms 1 and 2) and by type of school (Junior Lyceum and Area Secondary). Finally the students' attitudes were compared to their annual science examination score. The results showed that in general students had a positive attitude towards science. A high positive attitude was shown towards the social aspect of science and the content of the science curriculum. Overall boys showed a more positive attitude than girls, Form 1 students were more positive than Form 2 students, and Junior Lyceum students had a more positive attitude than Area Secondary students. The correlations between attitude and achievement scores were 0.109 (Likert Scale) and 0.127 (Osgood Scale), which show that the students' attitude does not affect the students' achievement in the subject. Nevertheless, from the comments given by the students in the response part of the questionnaire, it was observed that they like to see most changes in the teaching method ( 40% ). Other comments proposed changes with regards to the science teacher, the science curriculum, and resources in science education.