Factors associated with students' intentions to engage in science learning activities

Abstract

The determinants of fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders' intentions to perform science learning activities were investigated. Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action was used to assess students (n ϭ 254) on their laboratory and nonlaboratory behavioral intentions, which required using the two determinants included in the theory (attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm) as well as five external variables identified by the researcher. The five external variables were gender, grade, race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic status as determined by the range of the family's annual income, and attitude toward science. Two models were tested. The first model included the two determinants as predictor variables and behavioral intention as the criterion. The second model involved the analysis of the two determinants as they were considered in subgroups according to the five external variables. This model also included interaction terms. For laboratory learning activities, the two determinants (attitude toward behavior and subjective norm) were found to contribute collectively to the prediction of behavioral intention, accounting for almost a fourth of the variance. For nonlaboratory learning activities, the two determinants accounted for over a fourth of the variance in behavioral intention. Testing of the second model revealed that for both laboratory and nonlaboratory behavioral intentions, no interaction terms were significant. The results of post hoc tests on significant predictors of behavioral intentions for laboratory and nonlaboratory activities are reported. Implications of this study on future research are also discussed.

The Effect of Learning Strategies Used for Rehearsal on the Academic Success

“…Öğrenme stratejileri, ilgi ve tutum gibi duyuşsal öğrenci özeliklerinden etkilenir. Öğrenme sürecine ilişkin olumlu tutuma sahip olan öğrencilerin, diğerlerine oranla daha fazla öğrenme stratejisi kullandıkları görülmektedir (Butler, 1999;Ho, 1998;Najar, 1997;Purdie ve Oliver;. Ayrıca, strateji öğretimi yapılan öğrencilerin tutumlarının olumlu gelişmeler gösterdiği de araştırma sonuçlarında ortaya konulmaktadır (Carroll ve Leander, 2001;Huffman ve Spires, 1992;Keller, 1990).…”

Self-Report and Academic Factors in Relation to High School Students’ Success in an Innovative Biotechnology Program

“…This increasing interest in studying students' attitudes towards science is based on the assumption that there is some level of positive correlation between students' positive attitudes towards science and their achievement in science (Koballa & Glynn, 2007;Laforgia, 1988;Shrigley, Koballa & Simpson, 1988), willingness to take advanced science courses and desire to pursue science related careers post secondary education (Baker, 1985;Butler, 1999;Hidi, Renninger, & Krapp, 2004;Osborne & Collins, 2001). …”

“…Research on students' attitudes towards science can address multiple concerns related to students' participation and achievement in science. First, it has the potential to shed light on equity issues in science learning (Baker, 1985;Baker & Leary, 1995;Butler, 1999). Second, it addresses students' voices in curriculum development (Jenkins, 2006;Logan & Skamp, 2008;Osborne & Collins, 2001;Schreiner, 2006).…”

“…Third, it has the potential to shed light on the issues related to students' achievement in science (Koballa & Glynn, 2007). Finally, it addresses students' participation in STEM related careers in science (Baker, 1985;Baker & Leary, 1995;Butler, 1999;Kahveci, Southerland, & Gilmer, 2008).…”

“…Several educators have investigated the attitudes of students in Europe (Osborne & Collins, 2001;Tymms, Bolden, & Merrell, 2008), the United States (Butler, 1999;Crawley & Koballa, 1992;Koballa & Glynn, 2007) and few other countries (Baram-Tsabari & Yarden, 2005;Lyons, 2006). Turkey is no exception to this increasing interest in studying students' attitudes towards science.…”