Premium
Examining students' views on the nature of science: Results from Korean 6th, 8th, and 10th graders
Author(s) -
Kang Sukjin,
Scharmann Lawrence C.,
Noh Taehee
Publication year - 2005
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.20053
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , science education , psychology , nature of science , mathematics education , scientific theory , scale (ratio) , epistemology , geography , mathematics , philosophy , geometry , cartography
In this study, students' views on the nature of science (NOS) were investigated with the use of a large‐scale survey. An empirically derived multiple‐choice format questionnaire was administered to 1702 Korean 6th, 8th, and 10th graders. The questionnaire consisted of five items that respectively examined students' views on five constructs concerning the NOS: purpose of science, definition of scientific theory, nature of models, tentativeness of scientific theory, and origin of scientific theory. Students were also asked to respond to an accompanying open‐ended section for each item in order to collect information about the rationale(s) for their choices. The results indicated that the majority of Korean students possessed an absolutist/empiricist perspective about the NOS. It was also found that, on the whole, there were no clear differences in the distributions of 6th, 8th, and 10th graders' views on the NOS. In some questions, distinct differences between Korean students and those of Western countries were found. Educational implications are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed , 89: 314–334, 2005