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Path analysis: A model for the development of scientific reasoning abilities in adolescents
Author(s) -
Stuessy Carol L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660260105
Subject(s) - scientific reasoning , psychology , path analysis (statistics) , independence (probability theory) , causal model , variance (accounting) , abstract reasoning , locus of control , verbal reasoning , logical reasoning , mathematics education , developmental psychology , cognition , statistics , mathematics , accounting , neuroscience , business
A model was formulated and tested for the development of scientific reasoning abilities in adolescents. Piagetian theory provided the framework for choosing potential determinants of the dependent variable, scientific reasoning abilities. A model reflecting hypothesized causal relationships among determinants and with the dependent variable was developed a priori on the basis of theoretical and substantive reasoning. The hypothesized model was tested and revised using path analysis. Data from intact classes of middle‐school ( n = 101) and high‐school ( n = 89) students from an upper‐middle‐class suburb of a midwestern city revealed significant ( p < 0.05) path coefficients for these variables and scientific reasoning abilities: age, I.Q., field dependence–independence, and experience. A path from locus of control to scientific reasoning abilities through field dependence‐independence was also statistically significant. The revised model explained 61 percent of the variance in scientific reasoning abilities.