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Similarity and difference: Student cooperation in Taiwanese and Australian science classrooms
Author(s) -
Wallace John,
Chou ChingYang
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/sce.1034
Subject(s) - similarity (geometry) , nationality , science education , mathematics education , psychology , variation (astronomy) , scale (ratio) , sociology , pedagogy , geography , computer science , physics , cartography , archaeology , immigration , artificial intelligence , astrophysics , image (mathematics)
Abstract In this study, we examine the way in which students cooperate in Taiwanese and Australian science classrooms. We adopt the position that student cooperation is best understood by examining the patterns of variation within and between countries rather than trying to describe similarities and differences in essential terms. A critical analysis of large‐scale learning environment questionnaire data combined with in‐depth interview and observational data leads to several findings about the nature of student cooperation in the two countries. We conclude that students from Taiwan and Australia have a range of understandings and interpretations about what it means to cooperate in science classrooms. There are complex connections between cooperative behavior, student academic ability, sex, and nationality, which are best understood in socio‐cultural terms. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 85: 694–711, 2001.