Ayodeji P, Ifegbesan
Published: April 10, 2010
This study examined the level of awareness, knowledge and practices of secondary schools students with regard to waste management. Few studies have captured waste management problems in Nigerian educational institutions, particularly the views of students. Using a structured, self-administered questionnaire, 650 students were surveyed from six secondary schools in two of the four educational zones of Ogun State. Data collected were subjected to percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and chi-square statistical analyses. Findings revealed that secondary school students from the sampled zones were aware of waste problems on their school compounds, but possessed poor waste management practices. The study showed …
Ron Wagler
Published: July 10, 2010
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between United States K-4 preservice teacher‟s attitudes toward specific animals and the likelihood that the preservice elementary teachers would incorporate these specific animals in their future science curriculum. A strong statistically significant association was found between the preservice elementary teacher‟s attitudes towards a specific animal and their likelihood to include or exclude that animal from their future science curriculum. Specifically, if a preservice elementary teacher had a positive attitude toward an animal they were much more likely to believe they would use that animal in their future science curriculum. Conversely, …
Chantal Pouliot
Barbara Bader
Geneviève Therriault
Published: July 10, 2010
This article pursues a dual objective. First, it seeks to present the notion of the relationship to knowledge as a valuable theoretical tool for science education research. Secondly, it aims to illustrate how this notion has been operationalized in recent research conducted in Quebec (Canada) that focuses on teachers‟ and students‟ relationship to knowledge. The first portion of this article presents the notion of the relationship to knowledge, documenting its origins, usefulness and contributions to research in the field of science education. In the second portion, we present four (4) studies recently conducted in Quebec that relied on the notion …
Gaye Teksoz
Elvan Sahin
Hamide Ertepinar
Published: April 10, 2010
The present study aimed to determine level of pre-service chemistry teachers‟ environmental literacy and their perceptions on environmental education. This study was realized during the fall semester of 2006-2007 academic year with the participation of 60 students enrolled in five-year chemistry teacher education program. The data collected by administration of Environmental Literacy Test and Environmental Education Perception Survey were analyzed by descriptive statistics and content analysis. The pre-service chemistry teachers strongly emphasized promotion of feelings of concern for the environment, development of awareness and sensitivity to the total environment, and gaining social values to protect the natural resources through teaching …
Mary M. Atwater
Tonjua B. Freeman
Malcolm B. Butler
Jessie Draper-Morris
Published: July 10, 2010
The purpose of this explanatory case study using critical theory as a philosophical lens was to focus on two science teacher candidates‘ understandings of Otherness and their culturally responsive teaching (or the lack thereof) of students they believe are the ‗Others‘. The researchers found that even though the participants had different goals for their students, they were not responsive to some of their students because of the students‘ culture, race, and/or ethnicity. Both of the participants believed their science teacher education program had shortcomings and did not provide all of the needed experiences for them to be successful in their …
Dimopoulos Dimitrios
Paraskevopoulos Stefanos
Pantis D. John
Published: Oct. 10, 2009
This paper describes the design of an educational module which aims to raise awareness and change the attitudes of elementary school students about focal endangered species in protected areas. The proposed design builds on, and extends the General Teaching Model. The educational module which was developed through this approach was pilot-tested in two Greek elementary school classes, involving 29 students who provided their opinion through a questionnaire. The results verify that the educational module had a significant effect on the cognitive level and the attitudes of the students. Therefore, it is argued that the proposed design approach can form the …
Mızrap Bulunuz
Olga S. Jarrett
Published: Jan. 10, 2009
Research on playfulness, science, and creativity suggests that there is a connection between having positive background experiences with science and the development of interest in science. However, there is little empirical research on where, how, and when teachers’ interests in science develop. The purpose of this research was to explore connections between preservice elementary teachers’ background science experiences and interest in science. Subjects were 53 preservice teachers in two sections of a science methods course. The data were collected by administering a self-report Science Background Experiences Survey. Students with low and high initial interest in science were significantly different on …
Susanne Menzel
Susanne Bögeholz
Published: Jan. 10, 2009
Fostering young people‟s commitment to protect biodiversity is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in both, industrial countries and designated biodiversity hotspots. However, little empirical evidence exists to describe factors that influence such commitments. Based on the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, 15 to 19-year-old Chilean (n= 216) and German (n= 217) pupils‟ commitment to protect biodiversity was investigated. Comparisons revealed that Chilean adolescents showed higher personal norms and commitments to protect biodiversity. Regression analysis showed that within the German sample, the „Schwartz‟-value universalism was an important predictor for three different kinds of behavioural commitment. In both samples, „ascription …
Todd Campbell
Danhui Zhang
William Medina-Jerez
Ibrahim Erdogan
Published: Jan. 10, 2009
This study examined the similarities and differences among 171 Grade 7-12 science teachers from three different countries (54 U.S, 63 Bolivian, and 54 Turkish) with respect to their attitudes toward environmental education (EE) and instructional practices. The instrument employed explored how teachers‘ knowledge, instructional practices, decisionmaking process, and cultural features influenced their EE attitudes and praxis. The instrument, which was translated into Spanish and Turkish and then back into English, contained a personal data form that included demographic questions and a three-part questionnaire. Based on the analysis completed, significant differences were found between these three countries with respect to 1) …
Dr Michael Skoumios
Published: Oct. 10, 2009
Sociocognitive conflict has been used as a teaching strategy which may contribute to change students’ conceptions about science concepts. The present paper aims at investigating the structure of the dialogic argumentation developed by students, when they are involved in science teaching sequence that have been designed to change their conceptions through sociocognitive conflict strategy. For this purpose, teaching sequence targeted at the elaboration of students’ conceptions about floating and sinking -based on sociocognitive conflict processes- were prepared and implemented among 14 years old students. Next, the dialogues which the students had during the teaching sequence were analysed with the help …