The Relationship between Primary School Teacher and Student Attitudes towards Science and Technology

Abstract

This study focuses on the effects of teachers’ attitudes towards teaching about science and technology on student attitudes towards science and technology. A one-year longitudinal study involving 91 teachers and 1822 students from the higher years of Dutch primary schools showed that students develop less positive attitudes towards science and technology during their primary school years and that girls showed less positive attitudes than boys. Female teachers showed less positive attitudes towards teaching about science and technology than male teachers. Girls appeared to be susceptible of their teacher’s attitudes and especially developed less positive attitudes when their female teacher showed less enthusiasm for teaching science and technology. Implications for teacher education and teacher recruitment are discussed.

The Effect of Integrative STEM Instruction on Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Science

“…Gender didn't have any significant influence in both treatment and control students' attitudes towards science, differing from the tendency showed in previous studies (i.e. Denessen et al 2015;DeWitt & Archer, 2015;De Pro Bueno & Pérez Manzano, 2014;Jarvis & Pell, 2005), but being similar to those obtained by Akpinar et al (2009). Overall, these results seem to indicate that the model proposedusing a coupled inquiry and clearly defining each of the phases needed for integrating the different STEM subjects -may be useful for the design of other STEMs teaching units for the elementary level.…”

“…Research into elementary students' attitudes toward science confirmed that girls tend to report more unfavourable attitudes than boys. More specifically, girls enjoy less science lessons (Denessen, Vos, Hasselman, & Louws, 2015) and boys have more aspiration in science than girls (DeWitt & Archer, 2015). Also, it seems that as grade level increase, favourable attitudes toward science decrease drastically (Ali et al, 2013;Said, Summers, Abd-El-Khalick, & Wang, 2016).…”

Attitudes and Experiences of Classroom Science: Children’s Voices

“…However, students develop their views of science when they are young, and by age 14 their attitude toward science is confirmed and will have an effect on their future career choice (Denessen, Vos, Hasselman, & Louws, 2015). As a consequence, more recent research has focused on primary science with research on attitudes extending to the primary school (Silver & Rushton, 2008).…”

“…Others note how student attitudes become less positive over time. Denessen et al (2015) posited that students develop less positive attitudes toward science during their primary schooling. A similar trend has been noted in New Zealand.…”

“…Such approaches are evident in many of the research studies regarding primary school children's attitudes (e.g., Denessen et al, 2015;Dȕndar, Guvendir, Kocabiyik, & Papatga, 2014;Silver & Rushton, 2008). Attitudinal studies in New Zealand have also used quantitative approaches (e.g., Crooks et al, 2008;EARU & NZCER, 2013).…”