AN INVESTIGATION OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS' SCIENTIFIC LITERACY LEVELS

Ozdem Y., ÇAVAŞ P., ÇAVAŞ B., ÇAKIROĞLU J., Ertepinar H.

JOURNAL OF BALTIC SCIENCE EDUCATION, vol.9, no.1, pp.6-19, 2010 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 9 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2010
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF BALTIC SCIENCE EDUCATION
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.6-19
  • Keywords: scientific literacy, elementary, science education, GRADE 10 STUDENTS, SCIENCE-EDUCATION, ATTITUDES, TEACHERS, CONCEPTIONS
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Scientific literacy has become the major goal of science education in many countries as well as Turkey. In line with this goal, the purpose of this study is to investigate the scientific literacy level of elementary students in Turkey. In this study, the scientific literacy level of students is investigated through "Scientific Literacy Test" adapted by the researchers. The test was administered to 946 elementary students enrolled in 6(th), 7(th) and 8(th) grades in nine cities during the academic year of 2008-2009. The results of the study showed that 8(th) grade students significantly differ in their scientific literacy level compared to 6(th) and 7(th) grade students. However, eight graders have also some difficulties on some items related to the nature of science.