Review
of Researches done in India and Abroad
Prepared by
SABARISH-P
M.Sc., M.Ed., JRF & NET
Assistant Professor in Physical Science, Arafa Institute for Teacher Education
Attur, Thrissur.
Introduction
The interdisciplinary nature of science
education is responsible for the particular challenges to carry out science
education research and development. Science education is the discipline dealing
with teaching and learning science in schools and outside schools. Science
education research includes selection, legitimation and educational
reconstruction of topics to be learned, selection and justification of general
aims of teaching and learning science, as well as instructional sequencing that
takes the learners’ cognitive, affective and social preconditions into account.
Areas of research in Physical science Education
(Indian context)
The review of
researches in science education done in India has been published by the
Regional College of Education, Ajmer. The following table gives the status of
science education researches done at M.Ed. and Ph.D. levels in India.
|
Areas
|
No. of Studies
|
Percentage
|
|
1. Science
Curriculum
2. Methods
of teaching
3. Instructional
materials
4. Evaluation
5. Teacher
training
|
36
14
41
156
16
|
13.7
5.3
15.6
59.3
6.1
|
|
Total
|
263
|
100.00
|
•
(Research
in Science Education, NCERT and Regional College of Education, 2009)
The above table shows
the areas which have been neglected so far. Most of the research studies have
been conducted in the area of evaluation and very few in the areas of methods
of teaching and teacher training. Even in the area of evaluation most of the studies
done are on achievement tests. Although there is need for more studies in the
area of evaluation in science education, more attention is needed in the areas
of curriculum development, methods of teaching and instructional materials
development. Research is also needed in new innovations in science education
which might help improving the quality of science education at different levels
of education and making it more relevant of the needs and requirements of the
children, the community and the country.
International Experience
The increased focus on the status of
science in primary schools over the last ten to fifteen years has resulted in
an increasing number of government agencies and education institutions
conducting research and surveys on factors that influence the effectiveness of
the teaching of science to primary school students. Findings and
recommendations contained in the subsequent reports, as well as proceedings
from key international conferences, demonstrate a number of common concerns with
the teaching of science in primary schools. These common concerns that span
national and state education systems include the time allocated to science
instruction, teacher confidence, teacher knowledge and understanding of subject
matter, competition with literacy and numeracy and the availability and quality
of teacher professional development.
Review of some research
studies in physical science education
1) Title:
Concept Mapping in Science: A case study among students of standard 8th .
(Year: 2013)
Conducted
by: Dr. K.Remadevi, & Visakh Kumar, NSSTC, Changanassery
Methodology:
Pre test - Post test equivalent group design.
Findings: Concept mapping is more
effective than the conventional method of teaching. Concept mapping creates
‘minds-on’ environment in the classroom and fosters constructivism in Science
learning.
2) Title:
Effectiveness of constructivist approach on the achievement in science of 9th
standard students.(Year: 2013)
Conducted
by: Kadem Srinivas, University of Baroda
Methodology:
Quasi Experimental design.
Findings:
The study indicated that constructive approach is more effective than
conventional method on the achievement of science.
3) Title:
Effect of Audio visual Aids on Achievement in Physics in relation to creativity (Year: 2013)
Conducted
by: Dr. Ram Mehar & Vipin Kumar, Punjab University
Methodology:
Pre test - Post test equivalent group design.
Findings:
Audio visual aids were found to attain significantly higher achievement scores
as compared to conventional group. Performance of students in terms of
creativity was found significant.
4) Title:
A study of teaching aptitude, social adjustment and job satisfaction on
secondary school science teachers (Year: 2011)
Conducted
by: Mallikarjuna Reddy, Acharya Nagarjuna University
Methodology:
Survey method.
Findings:
The secondary school science teachers are having very high teaching aptitude.
The rural teachers have a better teaching aptitude than their urban
counterparts. The secondary school science teachers have an average level of
social adjustment. The secondary school science teachers have average job
satisfaction level.
5) Title:
A study of the relationship between intelligence, scientific creativity,
achievement motivation, home environment and acievement in science of higher
secondary school pupils of Kerala. (2008)
Conducted
by: Rosamma Philip, Mahatma Gandhi University
Methodology:
Survey method.
Findings:
The study indicate that Intelligence, Scientific Creativity, and Home
Environment have close relationship with Achievement in Science. There exist
very low relationship between Achievement Motivation and Achievement in Science
of Higher Secondary School Students.
6) Title:
Study habit and interest in science as correlates of achievement in physical
science among secondary school pupils. (Year: 2006)
Conducted
by: Manjula U, Calicut University
Methodology:
Survey method (Correlation study)
Findings:
There is significant relationship between Study habit and achievement in
physics, similarly there exists significant relationship between Interest in
science and Achievement in physical science.
7) Title:
A formative Evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction through Science club
in creating Scientific awareness in high school students. (Year: 2002)
Conducted
by: N. Hema, Calicut University
Methodology:
Experimental study
Findings:
The study revealed the effectiveness of instruction through science club to
develop scientific awareness in high school students. Educational status and
monthly income of parents had no effect on scientific awareness of students
instructed through science club.
8) Title:
Preparation and validation of multimedia packages in the teaching of science to
hearing impaired students of secondary schools (Year: 2001)
Conducted
by: Nirmala Susan, Mahatma Gandhi University
Methodology:
Experimental study.
Findings:
The study indicated that multimedia packages are more effective than
conventional method to hearing impaired students on the achievement of science.
Research has clearly established that
home background is very important for school achievement (Breen & Jonsson,
2005). TIMSS reports a strong relationship between pupils' science achievement and
student background, measured by the amount of books at home or speaking the
language of the test at home (Martin, Mullis and Foy, 2008). An analysis of
PISA 2006 results showed that home background, measured on an index summarising
each student’s economic, social and cultural status, remains one of the most
powerful factors influencing performance.
On average in the European countries, it
explained 16 % of the student performance variation in science (EACEA/Eurydice,
2010). However, poor performance in school does not automatically follow from a
disadvantaged home background.
CONCLUSION
Most
research in science education is on the practice of teaching and learning, together
with assessment, evaluation and teacher education; there is less
on philosophical issues. A look at the
research literature in science education would indicate that in the past three
decades, the work was dominated by research concerned with the flowing topics.
I have identified major references or recent reviews for each of these topics
and apologies in advance to who may feel that I have overlooked their work
· Children’s understanding and learning of
scientific phenomena
(Miller, Leach and Osborne, 2000;
Wandersee, Mintzes and Novak, 1994)
· Conceptual change research (Duit and
Treagust, 2003; Hewson, 1996)
· Constructivist views of learning/teaching
(Fensham, Gunstone and White, 1994)
· Nature of science (McComas, 1998)
· Perception studies - classroom
environment, attitude (Fraser, 1994)
· Equity and gender issues in science
(Baker, 1998; Rennie, Parker and Fraser, 1996)
· Scientific literacy (Yore, Bisanz and
Hand, 2003)
· Assessment/Evaluation (Tamir, 1998)
· Science Teacher Education (Abell, 2000;
Anderson and Mitchener, 1994)
· History and philosophy of science
(Duschl, 1994)
I
am sure there are other areas of importance that I have overlooked in this brief
review.
References
Anderson,
R. D., & Helms, J. V. (2001). The ideal standards and reality of school: Needed research. Journal of Research in
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Abell,
S.K. & Lederman, N.G. (2007a). Handbook of research on science education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum (in print).
Abell,
S.K., & Lederman, N.G. (2007b). Chapter 1. Introduction. In S.K. Abell
& N.G. Lederman, Eds., Handbook
of research on science education. Mahwah, NJ:
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Abell, S.K.
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