ERIC Number: ED305269
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989
Pages: 31
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Determinants of Grades 3 to 8 Students' Intentions To Engage in Laboratory and Non-Laboratory Science Learning Behavior.
Ray, Brian D.
Data were collected from grades 3 to 8 students (N=377) in order to identify the determinants of their intentions to perform laboratory and non-laboratory science activities. Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action was used as the basis for the study. The theory posits that the immediate determinant of behavior is intention. Intention is determined by the weighted attitude toward the behavior and the weighted subjective norm. Attitude toward behavior and subjective norm are determined by combinations of beliefs, evaluations, and motivations to comply. Cores of salient beliefs related to attitude toward laboratory and non-laboratory behaviors and cores of salient beliefs related to subjective norm for laboratory and non-laboratory behaviors were identified. Hypotheses generated from the theory were confirmed. Attitude toward behavior and subjective norm explained significant amounts of variance in behavioral intention for both laboratory and non-laboratory behaviors. Attitude toward behavior had a greater relative weight than subjective norm for both laboratory and non-laboratory. The correlations between adjacent constructs in the theoretical model were significant in all cases. (Author)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Policymakers; Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A