How Chinese students' scientific competencies are influenced by their attitudes?

How Chinese students' scientific competencies are influenced by their attitudes?

• Zhu, Yuanze Nanjing Normal University

International Journal of Science Education, 41(15), 2094-2112, 2019

Routledge

2019

• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GD Science & Technology
    • GDA Teaching Objectives, Curriculum & Evaluation

Scientific Competencies Interest in Science Nature of Science Socio-Scientific Issues Structural Equation Modelling

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

In recent years, research on students' scientific competencies has generated much discussion. According to the PISA 2015 Assessment and Analytical Framework, both scientific competencies and attitudes towards science - interest in science, valuing scientific approaches to enquiry (or epistemological beliefs about science), and environmental awareness - are integral aspects of scientific literacy. However, few studies have focused on the relationships between them. This article examines how students' scientific competencies are affected by their attitudes. Based on a theoretical analysis, the present study argues that the three attitudinal factors have a direct impact on scientific competencies, interest has an immediate influence on the other two attitudes, and epistemological beliefs are directly affected by environmental awareness. To test this hypothesis, a model was constructed to verify such relationships. PISA 2015 assessment instruments were used for data collection. The participants were 25,658 students from different parts of China, containing Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The results confirmed our hypothesis. The way in which Chinese students' attitudes affected their scientific competencies did not differ (to a statistically significant level) by gender or district. The limitations and implications of this research are discussed below.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge.]

• English

Journal Articles

• 09500693

• 10.1080/09500693.2019.1660926

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/28d0932a

2020-08-26