RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Attitudes towards science and views of nature of science among elementary school students in terms of gender, cultural background and grade level variables
A1 Toma, Radu Bogdan
A1 Greca Dufranc, Ileana María
A1 Orozco Gómez, Martha Lucía
K1 Attitudes towards science
K1 Nature of science
K1 Elementary school
K1 Cultural backgrounds
K1 TOSRA
K1 Educación
K1 Education
K1 Didáctica
K1 Teaching
K1 Enseñanza primaria
K1 Education, Primary
AB Background: There is a growing interest in investigating attitudes towards science and viewsof Nature of Science among elementary grade students in terms of gender, culturalbackgrounds, and grade level variables.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes toward science and views ofNature of Science among Spanish students, Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity and secondgeneration Spanish students with east-European heritage, and to determine if their attitudes arerelated to their views of Nature ofScience.Sample: Data for this study was gathered from seven elementary schools in Spain, forming aconvenience sample of 149 students enrolled from 2nd to 5th grade.Design and Methods: The Nature of Science Instrument (NOSI) and an adaptation of the Testof Science Related Attitudes scale (TOSRA) were used. Follow-up structured interviews wereperformed with 15 participants.Results: Regarding gender, boys had better attitudes toward Science than girls but more naïveviews of the empirical Nature of Science. In relation to cultural background, second generationSpanish students with east-European heritage reported significantly better attitudes towardScience than Spanish students and Spanish students of gypsy ethnicity. No differences inNature of Science views were found. Concerning grade level, third graders had more positiveattitudes toward Science than fifth and sixth graders and more informed views of the tentativeNature of Science. Finally, no relation between Nature of Science views and attitudes towardsScience were identified.Conclusion: This study stress the need to address the steady decline in positive attitude towardScience and to improve students’ views of Nature of Science from early elementary grades,and to use gender and culturally inclusive science teaching strategies.
PB Routledge. Taylor and Francis
SN 0263-5143
YR 2019
FD 2019-01
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10259/9986
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10259/9986
LA eng
NO This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad [EDU2017-89405-R].
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 30-ene-2025