Background: The views of the nature of science (VNOS) is one of the important goals of science education. According to information processing constructivism, learners' psychological factors that may influence VNOS include scientific argumentation (SA), metacognition (MC) and epistemic beliefs (EB). Purpose: This mixed-methods study aims to analyse…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are fighting not only the novel coronavirus, but also the "infodemic" induced by the pandemic. Therefore, it is urgent to explore approaches for enhancing individual immunity against science-related misinformation. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the relationship between public engagement…

The purpose of this study is to examine how students may hold coexisting and competing conceptual ideas and how students' uses of such ideas may evolve during the process of conceptual change by combining two complementary methods including model analysis and the conceptual framework model of knowledge integration. Conceptual change is fundamental…

This study examined the impact of integrating virtual science inquiry activities with Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) teaching strategies on 5th graders' understanding of science concepts and epistemic beliefs in science. A cohort of 80 5th graders (mean age of 12 years old, 40 boys and 40 girls) from a public primary school in North China took part…

In response to growing concerns about adolescents' low expectations for science-related careers, this study explores the mechanisms of the ternary associations among science learning experiences, science-related attitudes and beliefs, and science-related career expectations, involving a sample of 9841 15-year-old students from four Chinese…

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of participation in informal science activities on the associations among students' awareness of environmental issues and their attitudes toward science and epistemological beliefs. The data set included 9841 15-year-old students from four Chinese provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and…

This study aimed to adapt a new version of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II, the Chinese Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II, for high school students in China, focusing specifically on chemistry. The sample consisted of 1635 students from four high schools, by stratified random sampling. Data was collected online. Exploratory and…

By measuring students' attitudes towards science using Rasch modelling, the present study investigated the factors related to elementary students' attitudes toward science at both the individual- and school- levels using HLM in China, where students are often reported to have high achievement in science with below-average attitudes towards the…

The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) presented opportunities for the transformation of science and STEM education. Research on LLMs was in the exploratory phase, characterized by discussions and observations rather than empirical investigations. This study presented a framework for incorporating LLMs into Science and Engineering…

Research Findings: This study aims to explore the relationships between Scientific Epistemic Beliefs (SEB), Science Teaching Beliefs (STB) and Science-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Science-PCK) in preservice kindergarten teachers from China. Altogether 987 preservice teachers were randomly sampled from a teacher education institution and…

While helping students develop informed views about nature of scientific inquiry (VNOSI) has been emphasised in science education, little is known regarding students' current VNOSI at a certain grade level and whether there was evidence of higher attainment of VNOSI in students in higher grades as compared to lower grades? The purpose of this…

The way religion is taught in Chinese schools is drawing attention, as challenges arise associated with the resurgence of various religious traditions in contemporary Chinese society. Existing research has revealed that the decades-long institutional separation of religion and education in China has had a complex effect on Chinese students'…

International large-scale assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have emerged as important tools for understanding educational systems within Asia and around the world. Although the achievement scales tend to capture the majority of the world's attention the background scales have become important tools in…

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…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between primary school students' conceptions of, approaches to, and self-efficacy in learning science in Mainland China. A total of 1049 primary school students from Mainland China participated in this study. Three instruments were adapted to measure students' conceptions of learning science,…