Alien or Alike? How the Perceived Similarity between the Typical Science Teacher and a Student's Self-Image Correlates with Choosing Science at School

Autor/inn/en	Kessels, Ursula; Taconis, Ruurd
Titel	Alien or Alike? How the Perceived Similarity between the Typical Science Teacher and a Student's Self-Image Correlates with Choosing Science at School
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 42 (2012) 6, S.1049-1071 (23 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-011-9230-9
Schlagwörter	Physics; Student Attitudes; Science Teachers; Science Instruction; Self Concept; Foreign Countries; Hypothesis Testing; Teacher Characteristics; Secondary School Students; Course Selection (Students); Correlation; Germany; Netherlands + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physik; Schülerverhalten; Science; Teacher; Teachers; Science teacher; Wissenschaft; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Selbstkonzept; Ausland; Hypothesenprüfung; Hypothesentest; Sekundarschüler; Course selection; Student; Students; Kurswahl; Korrelation; Deutschland; Niederlande
Abstract	By applying the self-to-prototype matching theory to students' academic choices, this study links the unpopularity of science in many industrialized countries with the perceived gap between typical persons representing science (e.g. physics teachers) on the one hand and students' self-image on the other. A sample of N = 308 Dutch and German students described both themselves and typical teachers representing different school subjects using 65 trait adjectives. The following hypotheses were tested: The typical hard sciences teacher and the typical languages teacher will be perceived as differing in their personal characteristics. The typical physics teachers will be perceived as being less similar to students' own self-image than teachers representing languages. Actual choices students make during secondary school should correlate with the perceived fit between students' self-image and the prototype of teachers representing different school subjects, especially in the less frequent and less popular choices of a math or physics major/profile. The findings supported these hypotheses. The discussion stresses that students acquire not only knowledge about science but also about science culture (sensu Aikenhead) in their science classes and that students' image of science teachers can influence their academic choices. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10