Premium
The effect of instruction on socio‐cultural beliefs hindering the learning of science
Author(s) -
Jegede Olugbemiro J.,
Okebukola Peter A. O.
Publication year - 1991
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.3660280308
Subject(s) - sociocultural evolution , science education , science learning , mathematics education , psychology , test (biology) , scale (ratio) , achievement test , pedagogy , social psychology , sociology , standardized test , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , anthropology , biology
Although recent studies have shown that the sociocultural characteristics which children in non‐western society bring into the classroom from their environment create a wedge between what they are taught and what they learn, very little has been done to solve the problem. A learner who is not positively disposed to, or has a socio‐cultural background that is indifferent to, learning science would find it hard to learn science effectively. This study investigated whether instruction through the use of the socio‐cultural mode has any significant effect on students' attitude towards the learning of science. The sample consisted of 600 senior secondary year‐one students (442 boys, 158 girls) from 15 secondary schools in Nigeria. The Socio‐Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) and the Biology Achievement Test (BAT) were used to measure the change in attitude and achievement of subjects in a pretest‐posttest situation after a six‐week treatment. Evidence was found to support the hypothesis that science instruction which deliberately involves the discussion of socio‐cultural views about science concepts engenders positive attitudes towards the study of science. The findings also indicate that anthropomorphic and mechanistic views can be presented in such a way as to promote positive attitudes towards the study of science in traditional cultures.