Conceptions of the Nature of Science--Are They General or Context Specific?

Autor/inn/en	Urhahne, Detlef; Kremer, Kerstin; Mayer, Juergen
Titel	Conceptions of the Nature of Science--Are They General or Context Specific?
Quelle	In: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9 (2011) 3, S.707-730 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1571-0068
DOI	10.1007/s10763-010-9233-4
Schlagwörter	Scientific Principles; Familiarity; Secondary School Students; Classification; Theories; Scientific Concepts; Science Instruction; Science Education; Secondary School Science; Questionnaires; Correlation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sekundarschüler; Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Theory; Theorie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Fragebogen; Korrelation
Abstract	The study investigates the relationship between general and context-specific conceptions of the nature of science (NOS). The categorization scheme by Osborne et al. (J Res Sci Teach 40:692-720, "2003") served as the theoretical framework of the study. In the category "nature of scientific knowledge", the certainty, development, simplicity, justification, and source of scientific knowledge were distinguished. In the category "methods of science", the purpose of science and the creativity of scientists were mentioned. The study was conducted with 221 secondary school students, who filled in a 40-item questionnaire on general NOS conceptions. Furthermore, students were provided with different contexts by a short description of 10 scientific theories. After the theory introduction, students indicated context-specific conceptions as well as the importance and familiarity of each theory. Study results show that higher familiarity with scientific theories is related to a more informed view about the general nature of science. Correlational analyses illustrate that context-specific and general conceptions about NOS are not independent from each other but have a mutual core. Context-specific conceptions are not so different from their general counterparts that these aspects cannot be combined in a NOS questionnaire. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10