Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
HACETTEPE UNIVERSITESI EGITIM FAKULTESI DERGISI-HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, cilt.37, sa.1, ss.125-139, 2022 (ESCI)
The present study investigated middle school students' views on the nature of science (NOS) in relation to gender, grade level, and learning environment perceptions adopting a cross-sectional and correlational research design. A total of 608 middle school students (319 girls and 289 boys) attending Grade 7 (n = 286) and Grade 8 (n = 322) participated in the study. Students' NOS views were examined in terms of Theory-laden /Cultural impacts, Changing/tentative nature, Non-objective nature, and Creative nature/Justification tenets using Students' Views of Nature of Science Instrument. Learning environment perceptions, on the other hand, were assessed using What is Happening in This Class Questionnaire, in these seven dimensions: Student cohesiveness, Teacher support, Involvement, Investigation, Task orientation, Cooperation, and Equity. According to the results, there were no gender or grade level differences with respect to students' NOS views. Findings also demonstrated that all dimensions of learning environment perceptions were related to the students' views on all NOS tenets except for changing/tentative nature. Results were discussed considering relevant literature and implications for future research and classroom practices were outlined.