Published: April 10, 2010

The present study aimed to determine level of pre-service chemistry teachers‟ environmental literacy and their perceptions on environmental education. This study was realized during the fall semester of 2006-2007 academic year with the participation of 60 students enrolled in five-year chemistry teacher education program. The data collected by administration of Environmental Literacy Test and Environmental Education Perception Survey were analyzed by descriptive statistics and content analysis. The pre-service chemistry teachers strongly emphasized promotion of feelings of concern for the environment, development of awareness and sensitivity to the total environment, and gaining social values to protect the natural resources through teaching …

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Published: April 10, 2010

This study examined the level of awareness, knowledge and practices of secondary schools students with regard to waste management. Few studies have captured waste management problems in Nigerian educational institutions, particularly the views of students. Using a structured, self-administered questionnaire, 650 students were surveyed from six secondary schools in two of the four educational zones of Ogun State. Data collected were subjected to percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and chi-square statistical analyses. Findings revealed that secondary school students from the sampled zones were aware of waste problems on their school compounds, but possessed poor waste management practices. The study showed …

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Published: April 10, 2010

The purpose of the present study was to examine and compare the effectiveness of virtual frog dissection using V-Frog© and physical frog dissection on learning, retention, and affect. Subjects were secondary students enrolled in year-long life science classes in a suburban high school (N=102). Virtual dissections were done with V-Frog©, a virtual reality software application that allows users to work with a virtual specimen that can be cut and explored in ways that are therefore unique for each individual user. The study employed a pretest, posttest, delayed posttest design using the pretest as a covariate in the analysis of the …

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Published: July 10, 2009

The late 20th century and beginning of 21st century have witnessed unprecedented rapid economic development due to advances in technology and globalization. In response to this development, a renewed call for science literacy has become louder in the USA and many other countries. Common to all science education reforms around the world is emphasis on achieving science literacy by all children before high school graduation. This paper first reviews definitions of science literacy in the literature; it then examines the status of science literacy in the USA and other countries. Following the above, this paper then presents a new notion …

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Published: July 10, 2009

In the United States and around the world, calls for educational reform stress the need for a scientifically literate population, prepared for the twenty-first century workforce. These calls have translated into new curricula, which in isolation, are not enough? Teachers play an essential role in the development of scientifically literate citizens. Their purposes for teaching science act as filters for acceptable learning and teaching activities. This paper examines the congruence of eight private school teachers’ purposes for teaching science, and aspects of scientific literacy in the Middle Eastern country of Lebanon. Findings are discussed in light of contextual factors that …

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Published: July 10, 2009

Since the first use of ‘scientific literacy’ in the late 1950s, numerous science educators and policy makers have reconceptualised the term to such an extent that it has been described as being ‘ill-defined and diffuse’. Despite this lack of clarity, the term is the focus of curriculum standards in many countries and is at the heart of international comparisons of student attainment including the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study. Uncritical use of the term masks the existence of deep-seated philosophical clashes that hinder reform of science education in many countries throughout …

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Published: July 10, 2009

This paper sets out to provide an overview of scientific literacy specifically related to whether emphasis is placed on the ‘science’ or the ‘literacy’ aspect, accepting that literacy, wherever used, is wider than simply reading and writing. It does this from a general rather than a country perspective. The emphasis in giving meaning to scientific literacy is placed on the literacy component in recognition of the trend towards relating scientific literacy to skills and values appropriate for a responsible citizen. Rejected is a consideration that scientific literacy is related to an emphasis on the acquisition of content and this is …

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Published: Jan. 10, 2009

Fostering young people‟s commitment to protect biodiversity is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in both, industrial countries and designated biodiversity hotspots. However, little empirical evidence exists to describe factors that influence such commitments. Based on the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, 15 to 19-year-old Chilean (n= 216) and German (n= 217) pupils‟ commitment to protect biodiversity was investigated. Comparisons revealed that Chilean adolescents showed higher personal norms and commitments to protect biodiversity. Regression analysis showed that within the German sample, the „Schwartz‟-value universalism was an important predictor for three different kinds of behavioural commitment. In both samples, „ascription …

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Published: Jan. 10, 2009

Research on playfulness, science, and creativity suggests that there is a connection between having positive background experiences with science and the development of interest in science. However, there is little empirical research on where, how, and when teachers’ interests in science develop. The purpose of this research was to explore connections between preservice elementary teachers’ background science experiences and interest in science. Subjects were 53 preservice teachers in two sections of a science methods course. The data were collected by administering a self-report Science Background Experiences Survey. Students with low and high initial interest in science were significantly different on …

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Published: Jan. 10, 2009

This study examined the similarities and differences among 171 Grade 7-12 science teachers from three different countries (54 U.S, 63 Bolivian, and 54 Turkish) with respect to their attitudes toward environmental education (EE) and instructional practices. The instrument employed explored how teachers‘ knowledge, instructional practices, decisionmaking process, and cultural features influenced their EE attitudes and praxis. The instrument, which was translated into Spanish and Turkish and then back into English, contained a personal data form that included demographic questions and a three-part questionnaire. Based on the analysis completed, significant differences were found between these three countries with respect to 1) …

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