Karen Kerr

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Young childrens voices about science
Karen Kerr 3rd Annual Research Conference,
School of Education, Queens University
Belfast Thursday 29th March 2007
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Research outline
Primary school children
(2)IDEAS UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS
(1)ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE
-enjoyment -importance (for a job) -topics -school
Living
Daytime
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The Role of the Researcher
Researching with children

• Designing appropriate research instruments
• Very thorough piloting with different age groups
• Awareness of literacy and numeracy levels
• Incorporation of a game
• Drawings to correspond with interviews
• Data collection
• Introducing each stage of the process (language,
  reassurance)
• Instilling confidence (The Hawthorne Effect)
• Freedom to opt out
• Help the children feel comfortable i.e. avoidance
  of teacher-like controlling behaviours
  (Tammivaara and Enright, 1986)¹, a researcher's
  disposition
• Data analysis
• constructions about the childrens
  constructions (Shepardson, 2002)²

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• Why should we consider childrens attitudes
  towards science?

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The UK will need 2.4 million more people to work
in scientific jobs by 2014 Estimate from the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI),BBC news
online, 13/8/06³
Employers are increasingly looking overseas
for graduates Richard Lambert,
Director-general, CBI, BBC news online, 13/8/06³
a big problem for the economy Fiona Hyslop,
Scottish National Party (SNP), BBC news online,
28/6/06
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___________________________?
What things do you not like learning about in
school
Splashing in the water makes me all wet and my
shoes wet
the listening station its quite boring for me
Painting because it gets all over me
The bricks because theyre for babies

• We may use content or activities that we think
  the children like

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• Do children enjoy science?

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Do children like science lessons?
I like inventing things
The discovery of it
n 388
potions
about your body
Exploding stuff and stuff on fire
Doing investigations
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Do boys and girls think similarly?
boys n 190
girls n 196
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or differently?
mean 2.48 2.26
2.50 2.35 2.25 2.02
2.14 1.94
Significant at plt0.05
Significant at plt0.01
Significant at plt0.001
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or similarly about some things?
I like inventions, because it is really fun to
do BOY, 9
Yes, because you get a degree and you use
chemicals BOY, 11
girls responses n 94 boys responses
n 85
girls responses n 60 boys responses
n 65
I like sciences amazing investigation because
you learn about science and have fun GIRL, 8
Yes, because when youre in big school you have
to learn about your work and all and what you
want to do GIRL, 9
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and differently about other things?
girls responses n 32 boys
responses n 51
I dont like writing because I spent more time
writing and not learning GIRL,8
Everything, because it is very, very, very,
hard BOY, 8
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A decline in attitudes with age?
N.B. Transfer test
Significant at plt0.05
Significant at plt0.01
Significant at plt0.001
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or a more complicated picture?
6/7 responses n40 8/9 responses n77
10/11 responses n 62
6/7 responses n 26 8/9 responses n 53
10/11 responses n 46
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• Do children see science as important?

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Appreciation of science getting a job when you
are older

• Being able to read....70
• n641

2. Being able to use the computer69
n643
3. Being able to do science..67
n634
4. Being able to do sums.66 n636
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• What science activities/topics do children like?

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Would you like to learn more about

• GIRLS
• keeping healthy (87)
• how daytime happens (78)
• animals (77)
• parts of a flower (56)
• light (51)
• pushes and pulls (48)

BOYS keeping healthy (78) animals
(77) electricity (74) the seasons
(48) pushes and pulls (46) parts of a
flower (31)
n 310
N.B. Physical sciences
n 230
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• Would you like to learn more (b)
  Would you like to learn more about
  
  
• about the seasons?
  plants?

mean 2.74 2.50 2.16
1.90 mean 2.64 2.45
2.17 2.01 n 98
190 174 178
n 95 195 174
178
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• Are childrens attitudes towards science related
  to their attitudes towards school?

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Science and school?


yes
n 35, 192
n 174
n 178
Do you like science
lessons more than other lessons? Do you
like coming to school?
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In summary

• Although girls generally have more positive
  attitudes towards science topics there is little
  difference in the order of preference for boys
  and girls
• This sample think being able to do science is
  just as important as being able to do other core
  subjects
• Older children (9-11 year olds) generally have
  less positive attitudes to science and school
• This sample were very clear about what they LIKE
  and DONT LIKE to learn about in science

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So what?

• Children as young as 4 can say what they like and
  dont like
• Can we effectively learn what we dislike at a
  young age?
• If we begin by inspiring children about topics
  and activities that they do like it may encourage
  more positive attitudes later on (physical
  sciences?)

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• Why should we consider childrens ideas?

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• We may begin a topic from where our own thoughts
  are or where we think childrens thoughts are
• Driver et al (1985)
• childrens thoughts are often personal and
  incoherent in the eyes of the teacher
• May not mirror what or how teachers think about a
  concept
• Chose the most appropriate concepts that will be
  interpreted in similar ways

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P3 girl
P4 girl
Thinking, living with your family and having fun
Living is about skipping for getting
healthyAlways eat healthy food
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P7 girl
P4 boy
I think its about following God
Growing
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• Do children and student teachers think about
  science concepts in the same way?

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Similarly for some concepts?

• Animal
• Four legs, cant talk. student teacher
• Its got four legs. A dog is one. child
• Flower
• Something which grows out of the ground. They
  are usually colourful. student teacher
• Grows in the ground. child
• Its outside. It can be different colours.
  child

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Findings from Kerr, Murphy and Beggs (2006)
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Differently for other concepts?

• Living
• something that can move student teacher
• to be living is to move and grow student
  teacher
• In your house. You stay child
• You live in it. You sleep in it. You watch TV in
  it. Sometimes you have a wee car beside it. You
  put the car in the garage. child

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Findings from Kerr, Murphy and Beggs (2006)
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So what?

• Gooday and Wilson (1996) we may be misguided in
  our starting points
• Kerr, Murphy and Beggs (2006)
• important to begin lessons by probing and
  appreciating ideas (more positive attitudes?)
• children can think about the same word in
  different contexts
• Consideration of childrens ideas means we need
  to lose our fear of being wrong, shared
  experience will guide the next stage in the
  learning process

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6
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If we are to engage and inspire young people
with science, it is important that we listen to
their hopes and concerns
Sir Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the
British Association for the Advancement of
Science (the BA)
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References

• Tammivaara, J. and Enright, D.S. (1986) On
  Eliciting Information Dialogues with Child
  Informants, Anthropology and Education
  Quarterly, 17, 218-238
• Shepardson, D.P. (2002) Bugs, butterflies, and
  spiders childrens understandings about
  insects, International Journal of Science
  Education, 24(6), 627-643
• BBC News (2006) Schools letting down UK science
  online. Available from http//news.bbc.co.uk/go
  /pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/4780017.stm accessed 21
  August 2006.
• BBC News (2006) Decline in student science uptake
  online. Available from http//news.bbc.uk/go/pr
  /fr/-/1/hi/scotland/5124108.stm accessed 28
  August 2006.
• Driver, R., Guesne, E. and Tiberghien, A. (1985b)
  Childrens Ideas and the Learning of Science, in
  R. Driver, E. Guesne and A. Tiberghien, (Eds)
  Childrens Ideas In Science (Buckingham, England
  Open University Press), 1-9.
• 4. Kerr, K., Beggs, J. and Murphy, C. (2006)
  Comparing childrens and student teachers ideas
  about science concepts. Irish Educational
  Studies, 25 (3), 289-302.
• 5. Gooday, M. and Wilson, J. (1996) Primary
  Pre-service Courses in Science a basis for
  review and innovation, Journal of Education for
  teaching, 22(1), 95-110.
• 6. Sir Roland Jackson (2005) Scientists must
  listen to young peoples views, speaking at as
  press release for the British Association for the
  Advancement of Science (the BA) Festival of
  Science. Available from http//www.the-ba.net/the
  -ba/PressOffice/PressReleases/_19May2005.htm
  accessed 23 August 2006.

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Email address
kkerr02_at_qub.ac.uk