Promoting understanding of the epistemologies of science has long been the primary objective in science education, and can be viewed as a form of science learning outcome. Many studies have attempted to understand learners' conceptions of epistemology in science from various perspectives and methods; however, no recent reviews have focused on the…

This study employed the interview method to clarify the underlying dimensions of and relationships between students' scientific ontological and epistemic beliefs. Forty Taiwanese high school students were invited to participate in this study. Through content analysis of the participants' interview responses two ontological dimensions including…

In this study, we reviewed 76 journal articles on employing drawing assessment as a research tool in science education. Findings from the systematic review suggest four justifications for using drawing as a type of research tool, including assessment via drawing as (a) an alternative method considering young participants' verbal or writing…

Research on students' views on nature of science (VNOS) in Asian countries such as China is notably lacking. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure South China high school students' VNOS. Based on the previously acquired qualitative data, the instrument included seven VNOS dimensions which reflect the crucial aspects of…

Background and Purpose: Research in nature of science (NOS) among Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore is arguably scarce. This study aimed to survey Singaporean secondary school students' views of NOS with a newly developed instrument named Students' Views of Nature of Science (SVNOS), which included various key aspects of NOS that are…

Past studies investigating university level students' views of nature of science (NOS) were relatively few and most of them were conducted in Western countries. This paper focuses upon comparing the quantitative patterns in Western (US Caucasian and African-American) and non-Western (Taiwanese) students' views of NOS (VNOS) by adopting a survey…

This review examines 105 empirical studies that investigate students' views of the nature of science (VNOS), effects of curricular interventions on changing students' VNOS, and relations between VNOS and demographics, majors, and learning of science. The reviewed studies can be categorized into three theoretical frameworks: the unidimension, the…

Many educational psychologists believe that students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge, called epistemological beliefs, play an essential role in their learning process. Educators also stress the importance of helping students develop a better understanding of the nature of knowledge. The tentative and creative nature of science is often…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of science education courses on a group of Taiwanese inservice and preservice teachers' views toward the nature of science. There were two science education courses in the study; one was for 36 inservice teachers, while the other one was for 32 preservice teachers. Both of the courses included…

Explores the relationships among teachers' beliefs about teaching science, learning science, and the nature of science. Investigates (n=37) Taiwanese science teachers' views on teaching, learning, and science and categorizes them into three groups--traditional, process, or constructivist. Identifies closely aligned beliefs as "nested…

This study developed a Pupils' Nature of Science Scale, including the subscales of the invented and changing nature of science, the role of social negotiation on science, and cultural context on science, to assess early adolescents' views about the nature of science. More than 6,000 fifth and sixth graders in Taiwan responded to the Scale. The…

Argues that science students often perceive physical events, the nature of scientific knowledge, and the nature of learning processes in different ways from science teachers and scientists, and that science teachers need to account for these differences in planning their science teaching. Contains 40 references. (WRM)

Describes a study that explored the interplay between students' scientific epistemological views (SEVs) and their learning in school laboratory activities. Finds that students having SEVs oriented to constructivist views of science tend to focus more on negotiating the meanings of experiments with their peers than students with SEVs more in line…