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Associations Between Attitudes Towards Science and Children’s Evaluation of Information About Socioscientific Issues

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Abstract

Science educators are typically dismayed by the failure of students to use relevant scientific knowledge when reasoning about socioscientific issues. Except for the well-documented association between having more knowledge about a topic and a tendency to use that knowledge, the influences on students’ evaluation of information in socioscientific issues are not well understood. This study presents an initial investigation into the associations between upper elementary students’ attitudes towards science and their evaluation of information about a socioscientific issue. We surveyed the science attitudes of 49 sixth grade students and then asked them to evaluate information about a socioscientific issue (alternative energy use). Positive attitudes were associated with a more scientific approach to evaluating information in the task. When trying to make judgments, students with generally positive attitudes towards science were more likely to attend to scientific information than other sources. Scientific information, nonetheless, served a variety of socially oriented goals in students’ evaluations. These findings warrant further research on the relationship between science attitudes and reasoning about socioscientific issues and support the argument for connecting school science more clearly with everyday concerns.

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Notes

  1. We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for bringing this point to our attention.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Patricia E. Carroll for her invaluable feedback throughout the revisions of this article.

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  1. Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Rd., Shanghai, 200062, People’s Republic of China

    Sihan Xiao

  2. Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, Moore Hall 2327, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    William A. Sandoval

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Xiao, S., Sandoval, W.A. Associations Between Attitudes Towards Science and Children’s Evaluation of Information About Socioscientific Issues. Sci & Educ 26, 247–269 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-017-9888-0

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