Victoria University

Exploring New Zealand year 11 students' understanding of Nature of Science concepts

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dc.contributor.advisor McCrudden, Matt
dc.contributor.advisor Moeed, Azra
dc.contributor.author Northcott, Blair Daniel
dc.date.accessioned 2014-08-12T04:52:38Z
dc.date.available 2014-08-12T04:52:38Z
dc.date.copyright 2014
dc.date.issued 2014
dc.identifier.uri http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/3480
dc.description.abstract Nature of Science (NOS) is a core part of science education. Extensive effort has gone into establishing educationally appropriate NOS tenets, teaching practices and assessments tools. However, while previous research has identified the importance of prior knowledge in science education, there is limited research that investigates students’ prior knowledge and beliefs about NOS. This information is critical in identifying what teachers need to target in order develop informed NOS beliefs amongst students. In this study the NOS beliefs of year 11 secondary school students in New Zealand were explored using a mixed methods approach. Factor analysis of the students’ (N=502) NOS questionnaire responses revealed that students’ conceptions of NOS differed from the constructs identified in the NOS literature. Coding of the purposively selected sample of student interviews (n=22) revealed a naïve realist model of science was common. This model along with the alternative constructs provided insights into students’ NOS conceptions. The findings were used to develop a model that could help teachers’ better identify explicit and implicit teaching practices to help students develop more appropriate NOS models. en_NZ
dc.language.iso en_NZ
dc.publisher Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
dc.subject NOS en_NZ
dc.subject Nature of Science en_NZ
dc.subject Science en_NZ
dc.subject Epistemology en_NZ
dc.title Exploring New Zealand year 11 students' understanding of Nature of Science concepts en_NZ
dc.type Text en_NZ
vuwschema.contributor.unit School of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy en_NZ
vuwschema.type.vuw Awarded Doctoral Thesis en_NZ
thesis.degree.discipline Education en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
thesis.degree.level Doctoral en_NZ
thesis.degree.name Doctor of Philosophy en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 130106 Secondary Education en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcfor 130212 Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy en_NZ
vuwschema.subject.anzsrcseo 970113 Expanding Knowledge in Education en_NZ


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