An Investigation of the Attitudes and Perceptions of Junior High School Students Toward Science Courses.

Abstract

The primary objectives of the study were to determine factors influencing the attitudes of junior high school students toward science courses, and to identify science teaching practices that can enable teachers to motivate their students. The subjects comprised 226 seventh grade students, 217 ninth grade students and their science teachers, in three urban and three suburban schools in Michigan. Six instruments were used to collect data regarding Attitude Toward Science Courses, Attitude Toward School, Student Science Classroom Activities, Teacher Science Classroom Activities, Science Knowledge and Person-Environment Fit. The results indicated that seventh grade students were significantly more motivated toward school and toward science courses than ninth grade students. Attitude toward school was found to have a dominant effect on attitude toward science courses, but attitude toward school did not account for all the variation in attitude toward science courses. A substantial portion of the variance in attitude toward science courses was explained by the variations in students' perceptions of classroom activities, interests, science achievement scores, and the school which the students attended. Urban seventh grade students enrolled in classrooms where h and s-on science (ISCS) was taught were found to have significantly more positive attitudes than their suburban counterpart taking traditional science courses. Science courses per se were found to have very little effect on attitudes. Student perceptions of science classroom teaching behaviors were significantly different from the way teachers perceived themselves teaching. Science teaching in ninth grade classrooms was significantly more teacher- and textbook oriented than in seventh grade classrooms. The boys in the sample were significantly more interested in the manipulation of laboratory materials and equipment than the girls. On the basis of the findings of this study it was suggested that manipulative science and student-centered science instruction should be encouraged in junior high science classrooms in order to stimulate the development of positive attitudes. Further research should examine the decline of attitudes toward science courses in Junior High Schools.