Science education researchers and curriculum documents have advocated scientific inquiry for more than six decades; however, inconsistent findings concerning its effects on students' learning outcomes have been revealed in recent analyses of large-scale international assessment data (e.g., the Programme for International Student Assessment…

The role of epistemic beliefs in science (EBS) and socio-economic status (SES) on mathematics and science test results on both student- and school-level data was investigated via a secondary analysis of Estonian Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 survey data. The effective sample comprised 3991 students (52% girls, 48%…

Scientific literacy (SL) has been recognized as the main goal of science curricula documents around the world; however, comparative international curriculum research is limited, especially with Western and African countries. To fill this gap, this study aimed to compare the coverage of SL competencies with the components of knowledge, attitudes,…

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…

The purpose of this study is to identify to what extent that the reading comprehension, question types, attitude toward science, test method, and subject matter knowledge predict the PISA scientific literacy scores of the students. The study uses the method of correlational research, which is a type of quantitative research method. We reached out…

Background: Studies demonstrate that occupational optimism can boost adolescents' academic attainment and perseverance in education. To contribute to this literature, we consider two hypotheses. The first posits that bilingual immigrants are remarkably resourceful and determined. Thus, they are more occupationally ambitious than their peers. The…

Inquiry-based practices have important impacts on student science learning outcomes, yet the psychological mechanisms behind the relationships are less clear. This study aimed to explore the mediating effects of science attitudes in the relationship between student-perceived inquiry-based practices and scientific literacy using data from eight…

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive effects of inquiry-based and teacher-directed instructional practices on students' attitudes toward science and science achievement in a nationally representative sample of 7,708 15-year-old-students from Taiwan who took part in the sixth cycle of the Program for International Student…

Students' science knowledge and skills are considered critical to growing the intellectual capital on which societies rely to innovate and prosper. However, recent research has documented notable declines in students' intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement in Australia and other western countries. As a result, there have been calls…

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is one of two large scale international comparative projects of student assessment that now exert considerable influence upon school science education policy, the other being TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). This paper focuses on PISA, now the most influential…

The proliferation of information and divergent viewpoints in the 21st century requires an educated citizenry with the ability to critically evaluate information and make informed decisions. To meet this demand, adaptive epistemic understandings and beliefs about the nature of knowledge are needed, such as believing that scientific knowledge is…

Relationships between students' perceptions and their non-cognitive outcomes (epistemological beliefs, self-efficacy and attitudes to science) were investigated through secondary analysis of data from 14,167 United Arab Emirates students who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Structural equation modeling…

This study aimed to comparatively review student-level and school-level factors affecting scientific literacy in Singapore, Italy and Turkey. Two-level hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) was applied to the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment data set. The findings show that (a) the enjoyment of science, interest in broad science…

Background: Evidence so far shows that Waldorf students are characterized by average science achievement but at the same time high socioeconomic status and high science motivation. Moreover, Waldorf education is characterized by high emphasis on inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The present study investigates if the specific…