Achievement in primary school science courses has always been a field of interest by researchers in Turkey and other countries. For this reason, studies are conducted on science teaching at the primary school level. This study aimed to examine strengths and weaknesses of pre- and in-service primary teachers in science teaching. In addition, to…

Educational opportunities in the home, at school, and within the community differ across countries and affect students' achievement and future success in science fields. Bandura's Social (Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, 1986) and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological System Theory (Ecological models of human development.…

Large-scale studies, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), provide data to understand cross-national differences and similarities. In this study, we aimed to identify factors predicting mathematics achievement of Turkish students by comparing to Australian students. First, construct equivalence and item bias…

The purpose of this study is to investigate student- and school-level factors that help to explain the difference in the nature of science (NOS) views. Overall, the design of this study is correlational. The sample consisted of 3062 students enrolled in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades of elementary schools in Turkey. A hierarchical linear…

Turkey is expected to be a full member of the European Union (EU) by 2013. In the course of its integration into the EU, Turkey has been simultaneously facing access, quality, and equity issues in education. Over the past decade, substantial progress has been made on increasing the access. However, improving the country's low level of education…