Educational inequality is a highly debated yet empirically understudied topic in Malaysia. This paper examines the patterns and trends of academic achievement gaps by student social groups in Malaysia, drawing upon nationally representative data for the most recent four cohorts (1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011) of eighth-grade Malaysian students from…

Student success in chemistry is inherently tied to motivational and other affective processes. We investigated three distinct constructs tied to motivation: self-efficacy, interest, and effort beliefs. These variables were measured twice over the course of a semester in three sections of a first-semester general chemistry course (n = 170). We…

Laboratory-based practical classes are a common feature of life science teaching, during which students learn how to perform experiments and generate/interpret data. Practical classes are typically instructional, concentrating on providing topic- and technique-specific skills, however to produce research-capable graduates it is also important to…

Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) on the Sunshine Coast is growing rapidly. It has expanded from one inaugural Year 8 class in 2012 to the current state of play with the involvement of over 3,000 CASE students from eleven Sunshine Coast State High Schools. It is being taught by more than seventy CASE teachers with…

The purpose of this research is to design assessment instrument to evaluate science generic skill (SGS) achievement and chemistry literacy in ethnoscience-integrated chemistry learning. The steps of tool designing refers to Plomp models including 1) Investigation Phase (Prelimenary Investigation); 2) Designing Phase (Design); 3)…

This study attempted to predict physics, chemistry, and biology and math course achievements of vocational high school students according to the variables of student self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, state anxiety and trait anxiety. Study data were collected using a questionnaire administered to the students of a vocational high school…

Context-based questions can be effective in reducing test anxiety and increasing science achievement. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of context-based questions on the test anxiety and science achievement of secondary school students enrolled in a science course, in relation to gender. Seventy students who were found to…

The State of Qatar, in cooperation with the RAND Corporation, launched in 2002 an ambitious educational reform and development plan, "Education for a New Era," which included, among other things, the instating of English as the medium of instruction (EMI) in mathematics, science, and technology in the K-12 system. From the start, the…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning…

The introductory physical geology laboratory courses taught at North Carolina State University aims to promote scientific thinking and learning through the use of scientific inquiry-based activities. A rubric describing five possible levels of inquiry was applied to characterize the laboratory activities in the course. Two rock and mineral…

The performance in chemistry at tertiary level in Zambia has not been as expected. It has therefore been a matter of concern. There has been a continuous focus on exploring new teaching strategies to improve the understanding of this difficult subject. This study investigated the effectiveness of composite use of concept maps and traditional…

This study introduces a teaching concept based on the Standard Model of particle physics. It comprises two consecutive chapters--elementary particles and fundamental interactions. The rationale of this concept is that the fundamental principles of particle physics can run as the golden thread through the whole physics curriculum. The design…

Gauging the effectiveness of specific teaching strategies remains a major topic of interest in science education. Inquiry teaching among others has been supported by extensive research and recommended by the National Science Education Standards. However, most of the empirical evidence in support was collected in research settings rather than in…

The primary aim of the study was to examine whether performance on a science assessment in an immersive virtual environment was associated with changes in scientific inquiry self-efficacy. A secondary aim of the study was to examine whether performance on the science assessment was equitable for students with different levels of computer game…

This study investigated the effects of three strategies (i.e., guided discovery, think-pair-share, and lecture) on senior secondary school students' achievement in chemistry. A pretest, posttest, control group quasi-experimental design with a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial matrix was adopted for the study. Treatment was at three levels (guided discovery,…