ABSTRACT:The Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire (STAQ) was developed as part of a study to assess adolescent commitment to and achievement in science. For this psychometric reappraisal of the 57-item STAQ, data were analyzed from a convenience sample of 1,754 secondary students. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were applied, and results suggested that the STAQ can be shortened from 57 to 22 items spanning five

The central purposes of this study were to review the development and evolution of the Scientific Attitude Inventory (SAI) and then reevaluate the psychometric properties of the revised form of the SAI, the Scientific Attitude Inventory II (SAI-II). The SAI-II was administered to a convenience sample of 543 middle and high school students from five teachers in four schools in four school districts in San Antonio, Texas, at the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year. Confirmatory factor analysis on the full data set failed to support the existence of a 12-factor structure (as proposed by the scale developers) or a one-factor structure. The data were then randomly divided into exploratory [exploratory factor analysis (EFA)] validation and confirmatory [confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)] cross-validation sets. Exploratory and confirmatory models yielded a three-factor solution that did not fit the data well [w 2 (321) ¼ 646, p < .001; RMSEA ¼ .061 (.90 CI ¼ .054-.068); and CFI ¼ .81].

An enduring concern among science education researchers is the “swing away from science” (Osborne. 2003). One of their central dilemmas is to identify—or construct—a valid outcome measure that could assess curricular effectiveness, and predict students' choices of science courses, university majors, or careers in science. Many instruments have been created and variably evaluated. The primary purpose of this paper was to re‐evaluate the psychometric properties of the Image of Science and Scientists Scale (ISSS) (Krajkovich 1978). In the current study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the dimensionality of the 29‐item ISSS, which was administered to 531 middle school students in three San Antonio. Texas school districts at the beginning of the 2004–2005 school year. The results failed to confirm the presumed 1‐factor structure of the ISSS. but instead showed a 3‐factor structure with only marginal fit with the data, even after removal of 12 inadequate items. The three dimensions were “Positive Images of Scientists” (5 items). “Negative Images of Scientists” (9 items), and “Science Avocation” (3 items). The results do not support use of the original form of the ISSS for measuring “attitudes toward science,”“images of scientists. “or “scientific attitudes. “Shortening the scale from 29 to 17 items makes it more feasible to use in a classroom setting. Determining whether the three dimensions identified in our analysis. “Positive Images of Scientists. ““Negative Images of Scientists. “and “Science Avocation “contain useful assessments of middle school student impressions and attitudes will require independent investigation in other samples.

The Women in Science Scale (WiSS) was first developed in 1984, and is still being used in contemporary studies, yet its psychometric properties have not been evaluated with current statistical methods. In this study, the WiSS was administered in its original 27-item form to 1,439 middle and high school students. Confirmatory factor analysis based upon the original description of the WiSS was modestly supportive of the proposed three-factor structure, but the claimed dimensions showed substantial redundancy. Therefore, we split our sample and performed exploratory factor analyses on one half. The most satisfactory solution, a two-factor model, was then applied to the crossvalidation sample with a confirmatory factor analysis. This two-factor structure was supported with a total of 14 items. Factor 1, Equality, contains eight items, and factor 2, Sexism, six items. Although our data are limited to adolescents, the WiSS, with improved psychometric properties, may be used descriptively to assess attitudes toward

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has roots in childhood; since CVD begins early, a clear strong case for early education focused on CVD primary prevention exists. Scientists are not traditionally involved in disseminating health knowledge into public education. Similarly, public school teachers typically do not have access to biomedical research that may increase their students' health science literacy. One way to bridge the 'cultural' gap between researchers and school teachers is to form science education partnerships. In order for such partnerships to be successful, teams of scientists and teachers must 'translate' biomedical research into plain language appropriate for students.In this article, we briefly review the need for improving health literacy, especially through schoolbased programs, and describe work with one model scientist/teacher partnership, the Teacher Enrichment Initiatives. Examples of cardiovascular research 'translated' into plain language lessons for middle school students are provided and practical considerations for researchers pursuing a science education partnership are delineated. KeywordsHealth education; science educations; atherosclerosis; adolescents; cardiovascular risk scores; cardiovascular health education; teacher professional development The core challenge for health scientists and educators in the United States is to translate the knowledge gained from research into improved health for the public. Even though there have been large gains in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease since the 1980s, the Corresponding Author: MaryAnne J. Toepperwein, Educational Development Specialist, TEI Teacher Enrichment Initiatives, UTHSCSA Medicine/GCRC MSC 7891, Ph: 210-567-4477 Fax: 210-567-4414, toepperwein@uthscsa.edu. Disclosure Statement: All authors have no competing interests regarding this paper or our ongoing research.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Biomedical research often eludes consumers most in need of the results. Informing the broader public about research findings has been a longstanding challenge (2). For cardiovascular disease, the research community was startled in 1953 by evidence that atherosclerosis, a disease primarily of older adults, was found in young Korean War veterans (3). Over the ensuing five decades, confirmatory research amassed (4,5), but remained primarily ensconced within the peer-reviewed literature. Many research findings are slow to reach the public (6); educators, parents, and adolescents are consumers in need of such information, but typically are not exposed to biomedical jou...