Session Information
Contribution
In this paper we discuss:
- How students and teachers in secondary schools perceive science education and themselves as science students or science educators in particular contexts.
- How teachers and parents/carers perceive and influence students’ engagement with science education
- How secondary school students and teachers relate science education to society, community and home life
- How to improve secondary school students’ engagement with science education
Accessing students’ perspectives on education is encouraged in England by central government (DCSF, 2008; QCA, 2006) because it fosters student engagement in learning and helps to develop a more inclusive school environment. Listening and talking to students about their perspectives on teaching and learning (Rudduck, 2004 in Demetriou and Wilson 2010) helps teachers reflect critically on their practice and improves the quality of schooling (Rudduck & Flutter, 2004). Pupils’ learning is significantly improved through engagement in group discussions (Bennett et al., 2004). However, teachers’ approaches to science education are influenced by their own identities as science educators and the policy and socio-cultural contexts in which they work.
Student voice acknowledges the rights of students to influence the shaping of their own learning (Fielding, 2004) and helps to democratise schooling (Rudduck and Flutter, 2004). ‘Collaboration’ and ‘identity’ (Giddens, 1991) are central theoretical constructs in people’s self-development and the construction of successful learning, in this case in science education. Collaborative learning can be supported by computers (Bennett et al., 2004), preferably using a secure website (James and Busher 2009), to facilitate asynchronous interaction through, for example, the completion of online questionnaires, the keeping of blogs and the use of discussion boards, in this case on students’ developing views of science education.
Students’ identities as science students are affected by various social factors such as ethnicity and cultural contexts. Schreiner and Sjøberg (2007) noted that the more developed the society the more negative was the response to a questionnaire item ‘I like school science better than most subjects’: The average English boy scored 2.3 while girls scored 1.6. In Gujurat the average Indian girl scored 3.2 while boys scored 3.3. In the UK the majority of pupils do not want to continue studying sciences at KS5 and even KS4 because of their perceived difficulty (Spall et al, 2004). The focus on education in England and India in this study is because people of Indian origin form significant minorities in many cities in England. In Leicester ‘approximately 40% of Leicester’s population has an ethnic minority background and Gujarati Indians form 28% of the total population (LCC, 2008).
Research questions:
- In what ways do national policy frameworks and socio-cultural contexts influence teaching and learning in science education?
- How do students and teachers in secondary schools perceive the teaching and learning of science and themselves as science students or science educators?
- How do teachers and parents/carers perceive and influence students’ engagement with science education?
- In what ways do secondary school students and teachers relate science education to society, community and home life?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Bennett, J., Lubben, F., Hogarth, S. and Campbell B. (2004) A systematic review of the use of small-group discussions in science teaching with students aged 11-18, and their effects on students understanding in science or attitude to science. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London Demetriou, H. and Wilson, E. (2010) Children should be seen and heard: The power of student voice in sustaining new teachers, Improving Schools, 13 (1): 54-69 DCSF (2008) Working Together: Listening to the voices of children and young people, London: DCSF (http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-00410-2008.pdf) [accessed 30 Aug 2010] Fielding, M. (2004) Transformative approaches to student voice: Theoretical underpinnings, recalcitrant realities, British Educational Research Journal, 30 (2): 295-310 Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age, Cambridge: Polity Press James, N. and Busher, H. (2009) Online Interviewing, London: Sage LCC, Leicester City Council (2008) The Diversity of Leicester: Summary of key facts Leicester: Leicester City, UK Prosser, J. (2006) Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, London: RoutledgeFalmer Rudduck, J. & Flutter, J. (2004) How to improve your school: Giving pupils a voice, London: Continuum Books QCA (2006) (http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/key-stage-4/science/programme-of-study/index.aspx) [accessed 30 Aug 2010] Rudduck, J. & Flutter, J. (2004) How to improve your school: Giving pupils a voice, London: Continuum Books. Schreiner, C. and Sjøberg, S. (2007) Science education and youth’s identity construction – two incompatible projects? In D. Corrigan, J. Dillon and R. Gunstone (eds), The Re-emergence of Values in the Science Curriculum, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers Spall, K., Stanisstreet, M., Dickson, D. and Boyes, E. (2004) The development of students’ construction of biology and physics, International Journal of Science Education, 26 (7): 787-803
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