Comparing Poor, Minority Elementary Students' Interest And                 Background In Science With That Of Their White, Affluent Peers

Wenner, George

doi:10.1177/0042085902250483

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…Three short yet relevant observations can thus be made. (1) It appears that parental education is correlated with attitude (based on TIMSS data [155] and analyses of the mother's education level [192]); although, according to other sources, it does not appear to be correlated with motivation [176]; (2) in the US, white students express more positive I/M/A than some other ethnicities [26;193]; and (3) the link between economic disadvantage and attitude is uncertain, since one article reported that suburban students showed better attitudes than metropolitan ones ( [69] based on data from 54 schools), while at the same time students from a very economically disadvantaged school showed better attitudes [211].…”

Section: Sociological Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels: a systematic review of 12 years of educational research

Potvin

Hasni

2014

Studies in Science Education

524

360

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The relationship that exists between students and science and technology (S&T) is a complex and important one. If it is positive, then social, economic and environmental consequences are to be expected. Yet, many problems of interest/ motivation/attitude (I/M/A) towards S&T have been recorded. A lot of research has been conducted on this topic and a certain number of syntheses have been proposed, but very few of them have followed sufficiently systematic procedures. In this article, we offer a synthetic and systematic description of 228 research articles that were published between 2000 and 2012 and indexed in the ERIC database under I/M/A for S&T at K-12 levels. We focus on the origin of these articles, on the constructs they use and define, on the instruments, and finally on the results they provide, whether correlative or causal. Conclusions and recommendations for future research and interventions are formulated.Keywords: science education; technology education; literature review; interest; motivation; attitude; K-12 Introduction A worldwide concernThe connection that exists between students and science and technology (hereafter designated as 'S&T') through the use of such concepts as 'interest', 'motivation' or 'attitude' (hereafter designated as 'interest/motivation/attitude', 'I/M/A') is an important current and ongoing preoccupation and has been a major concern for researchers and educational systems around the world for a very long time (Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003). Although students' I/M/A toward S&T is sometimes judged to be generally positive (Awan, Sarwar, Naz, & Noreen, 2011) -though not without some considerable international differences (p. 43), boy/girl differences and subject-related differences (Schreiner & Sjoberg, 2004) -the idea that interest in S&T is declining has now been widely accepted. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2006, 2008), S&T professions are less attractive and the share of S&T students in higher education has been decreasing considerably. In 2003, Osborne et al. wrote: 'In […] the past decade, the problem has become even more acute ' (2003, p. 1050 This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted. , 2014 Vol. 50, No. 1, 85-129, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2014 interest-evaluating items (8) in its international testing initiative (Krapp & Prenzel, 2011). Studies in Science EducationStudents and school science & technology: a relationship under tension and a need for research-based synthetic knowledge According to Krapp and Prenzel (2011), besides developmental or identity-based approaches, it is possible to tackle the problem of interest in S&T by supposing that its development depends 'on the quality and type of instruction ' (p. 35) that is given to students in schools. But ...

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Section: Sociological Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels: a systematic review of 12 years of educational research

Potvin

Hasni

2014

Studies in Science Education

524

360

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“…Along with these obstacles to student achievement, ours and others' work has also identified positive resources that can support improved science instruction in these schools. Foremost is a high level of student interest in science (Wenner, 2003). Building on this interest often requires addressing the diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the students.…”

Section: Obstacles To Improving Science Achievementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving science achievement at high-poverty urban middle schools

Ruby

2006

Sci. Ed.

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A large percentage of U.S. students attending high-poverty urban middle schools achieve low levels of science proficiency, posing significant challenges to their success in high school science and to national and local efforts to reform science education. Through its work in Philadelphia schools, the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University developed a teacher-support model to address variation in science curricula, lack of materials, and underprepared teachers that combined with initial low levels of proficiency block improvements in science achievement. The model includes a common science curriculum based on NSF-supported materials commercially available, ongoing teacher professional development built around day-to-day lessons, and regular inclass support of teachers by expert peer coaches. One cohort of students at three Philadelphia middle schools using the model was followed from the end of fourth grade through seventh grade. Their gains in science achievement and achievement levels were substantially greater than students at 3 matched control schools and the 23 district middle schools serving a similar student population. Under school-by-school comparisons, these results held for the two schools with adequate implementation. Using widely available materials and techniques, the model can be adopted and modified by school partners and districts.

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“…Students' perceptions of science are related to interests that can be either encouraged or stifled (Wenner, 2003). At times, causes for student disinterest are deeply ingrained and more complicated than whether the class was fun.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Science Attitudes of Urban Diverse Gifted Middle School Students

Jeanpierre¹,

Hallett-Njuguna²

2014

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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a central focus in science education, research, economics and politics. With this increased focus on STEM, it is important to know urban gifted students' perceptions and attitudes toward science. Overall, these 6th and 8th grade gifted students reported a lack of interest in science. This is troubling, if we want to see more diversity in the science professions. One group, minority girls, did provide a bright spot in their responses which had not been commonly reported in the research literature. They liked science the most and were positive about science, which was encouraging. To develop a diverse STEM workforce, it is imperative to provide the quality of education and means to support all students interested in pursuing these fields, including urban diverse gifted students.

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Comparing Poor, Minority Elementary Students' Interest And Background In Science With That Of Their White, Affluent Peers

Cited by 19 publications

References 11 publications

Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels: a systematic review of 12 years of educational research

Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels: a systematic review of 12 years of educational research

Improving science achievement at high-poverty urban middle schools

Exploring the Science Attitudes of Urban Diverse Gifted Middle School Students

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