High School Students’ and Parents’ Perceptions of the Nature of Science

Süleyman Akçay, Gülderen Sultan Türkme

Abstract


Today, only people, who truly understand what scientific knowledge is and how it is obtained, are considered scientifically literate. This understanding expected in today’s scientific areas is called the nature of science (NOS). This study aimed to determine the perceptions of high school students and their parents regarding NOS. In addition, the changes in high school students’ and their parents’ perceptions of NOS according to various variables were examined. The data of the research were collected in the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. The research involves students and their parents studying in high schools in Konya, a Central Anatolian province of Turkey. The sample group of the research consists of 428 high school students and 428 of their parents. “NOS Questionnaire as Argumentation (NSAAQ)” developed by Sampson and Clark (2006) and translated into Turkish by Çetin et al. (2010) was used. As the results showed, students’ perceptions of NOS did not differ significantly according to gender, grade level, place of residence, and average monthly income of the family. Only in the first dimension (How do you define scientific knowledge?) was there a significant difference between parents in favor of men. However, this difference had a low effect size. On the other hand, the fact that parents with higher education had average score and the existence of a significant linear correlation between NOS perceptions of students and their parents were two noteworthy findings. From this perspective, it can be said that today’s formal education process in Turkey has significant deficiencies in terms of a more advanced understanding of NOS. In summary, it is clear that the desired development has not been achieved in the perceptions of high school students regarding NOS in formal education in Turkey.

Keywords


Nature of Science (NOS), High School Students, Students’ Perceptions, Parents’ Perceptions

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.11n.4p.353

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