This study aims to investigate the potential correlation between pseudoscientific beliefs and media literacy among pre-service teachers. In this study, a survey method was conducted. The research group consists of 332 pre-service teachers from a state university. Data were collected using two Likert scales, one on media literacy and the other on…

Scientific literacy is the primary goal of elementary science education. Scientific literacy requires an overall understanding of what science is, and how and why scientific knowledge is developed. The normal assumption is that as students progress in school, they learn more. One would expect students to become more scientifically literate as they…

This work reports the development and application of an analytical tool for the analysis of the formation of the scientific mind of students who took part in inquiry activities, based on the philosophy of Gaston Bachelard, in a Chemistry Club. For the construction of the analytical instrument, an extracurricular course was offered to first-year…

In this study, we propose to analyse students' drawings using the Semiotic Cultural Psychological Theory (SCPT), a socio-cultural psychological model that integrates semiotics with dynamic systems theory. According to the SCPT framework, students-generated drawings can be analysed in terms of generalised meanings, i.e., implicit assumptions about…

While the United States (U.S.) and Canada share features in their secondary education systems (e.g. proportion of immigrants), these nations have differences (e.g. linguistic ). Given the primacy of Canada over the U.S. vis-à-vis science literacy [as measured by the Programme International for Student Assessment (PISA)], underlying differences in…

Scholars have suggested that student non-cognitive factors, such as attitudes, have contributed to the gender gap in STEM. Gender has been under investigation for students' attitudes towards science/physics, but student scientific attitudes (SA) have meagre exploration. This study examined the relationships between gender, SA (in terms of…

Concern that stereotypical perceptions of scientists may influence attitudes towards science and willingness to pursue STEM-related careers has motivated interest in children's perceptions of scientists. This study investigated primary children's drawings of scientists at work based on Chambers' 'Draw-A-Scientist Test' (DAST) and explored the…

Students with special educational needs (SEN) are often left behind in science education, and research largely ignores this population. In particular, very limited research examines the intersection between the nature of science (NOS) and special education (SPED). To address this gap, the study investigated 18 preservice SPED teachers' NOS plans…

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…

Astronomy is seen as a "gateway" science, inspiring students to pursue Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) related careers. However, there is little evidence that students' attitudes towards astronomy remain stable over time. By integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we identified…

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 COVID-19 pandemic revealed how much the science education community has yet to understand about myriad variables that impact accurately informed socioscientific issue decision-making. Toward that end, this study investigated 415 university biology students' COVID-19 behaviours and opinions regarding how COVID-19 mandates might be associated…

Using TIMSS 2015 data, the present study aimed to explore the profiles of attitudes toward science among Hong Kong eighth-grade students (N = 4138), and further to investigate how these attitudinal profiles might relate with gender and science achievement. In TIMSS, attitudes toward science are specified in terms of four factors: intrinsic…

This study investigated whether the Science on Stage, a theatre and drama project, taught middle-school students more about the lives and discoveries of great scientists and whether it helped them develop positive views and attitudes towards the science course and scientists. This 8-month study employed an embedded design. The sample consisted of…

In recent years, the science education research community has become increasingly interested in the learning domain of Einsteinian physics (EP). While the literature has provided accounts of how EP education can impact secondary and undergraduate students' attitudes and engagement with physics, we still lack such research with younger students.…