Advanced science students' understanding on nature of science in Turkey

Abstract

Nature of science (NOS), as an aspect of informed decision making about science related issues in daily life, is frequently emphasised when reform and the curriculum are in question. When reflecting on studies done on the subject, it comes apparent that the majority of them comprise of determination or assessment studies conducted with traditional groups. In order to gain further understanding, there should be more comprehensive research approaches with non-traditional groups such as academically advanced students. The aim of this study is to determine epistemological understanding of academically advanced science students concerning aspects of the NOS. The study was a case study conducted with qualitative perspective. A questionnaire on the students' attitude toward science and motivation toward science learning plus a form for the teacher's ideas and VNOS-C, were used as instruments. The study revealed that the majority of the students were found to be naïve in aspects such as "observation and inference", "social and cultural embeddedness" and "theories and laws" whereas the majority of them were expert in aspects of "tentativeness" and "subjectivity". © 2014 HKIEd APFSLT.