This study aims to assess learning outcomes and identify students’ misconceptions in plant classification. We conducted a questionnaire survey with undergraduate and master’s students. The qualitative analysis of the students’ responses made it possible to shed light on the difficulties of assimilation of many notions and also to identify the different misconceptions constructed during their learning courses about plant organisms. The findings indicate that some students are not motivated to take the course on plant classification. This demotivation is reinforced further by students’ perceptions of plant classification, especially that it is not important and not useful for learning other biology specialities. The findings also show that more than half of the students who participated in this study consider plant systematics a difficult subject. We also note that some of the students surveyed seem not to have acquired many concepts of plant biology including concepts related to the biology, reproduction and evolution of plants. Thanks to this, we could see different types of problems in plant classification, which constitute misconceptions hindering learning. Initial training in plant biology does not appear to have a significant effect in modifying students’ misconceptions related to plant classification.

This exploratory study aims to verify whether the current use of scientific experiments in the Moroccan high-school science curriculum meets students' needs for experimental scientific learning. For that purpose, a sample chapter of the official science textbook was analysed in detail. The analysis was carried out using a didactic model of the French didactician Coquide, which categorizes teaching objectives into three modes: practical familiarisation, empirical investigation and conceptual construction. Analysis grids were built based on a selection of the three didactical modes' attributes. These grids were used to identify the presence and the weight of these three didactical modes within the chosen sample chapter. Results reveal that experiments in the high-school scientific curriculum are not presented in a balanced way and rarely implemented according to a didactic logic. The study also shows that the experiments analysed are essentially focused on the conceptual construction mode while neglecting practical familiarisation and empirical investigation.

CONTEXT: Well-being in schools is often considered in relation to the educational and academic success of students. However, it is difficult, at present, not to consider the well-being of a student without an ecological and holistic perspective, in view of the interaction principles implemented in schools. This research aimed to identify the representations hold by Moroccan teenagers about well-being. It aimed, also, to do a comparison between two groups of teenagers: one belonging to urban and the other to rural areas. METHODS: This quantitative study concerns a sample of 1444 pupils (755 girls and 689 boys) enrolled in middle school. Research instrument for this study was questionnaire that includes 15 questions relating to well-being at school, relationships with the teacher, relationships between students, violence experienced, and coeducation. RESULTS: From the analysis of data, pupils in the rural areas seem to be most sensitive to the “emotional” aspects of the teacher–pupil relationship. The girls are more satisfied in middle school than boys. This fact seems to be a very important factor in their retention and in reducing their dropout rate. As expected, academic success is highlighted in the two groups of students as an indicator of well-being. However, the fact of not knowing which orientation to choose constitutes a factor of ill-being for pupils, especially for girls. The results show also that well-being is not taken care of in the two environments (urban and rural). This will explain the results of Moroccan students assessed by the Program for the Monitoring of Student Achievement. CONCLUSIONS: Training programs should focus on the development of teachers communication skills, ability to manage behavioral problems of their students and use teaching approaches to develop positive relationships between students.