Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists
In rapidly developing countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where this study took place, having a body of competent, dedicated key workers in STEM fields is critical to growing national economies. This, in turn, requires motivated, well-qualified graduates of STEM degrees. School student...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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LUMA Centre Finland
2021-09-01
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| Series: | LUMAT |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.helsinki.fi/lumat/article/view/1605 |
| _version_ | 1818382335650824192 |
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| author | Martina Dickson Melissa McMinn Dean Cairns Sharon Osei-Tutu |
| author_facet | Martina Dickson Melissa McMinn Dean Cairns Sharon Osei-Tutu |
| author_sort | Martina Dickson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In rapidly developing countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where this study took place, having a body of competent, dedicated key workers in STEM fields is critical to growing national economies. This, in turn, requires motivated, well-qualified graduates of STEM degrees. School students' perceptions of science, scientists and science careers have been shown in some research to affect uptake of science degrees later on. How much of their science classwork students experience as authentically 'feeling like scientists' is less understood, yet important. This study took place in upper primary science classrooms in the UAE. Immediately following a science lesson, children were interviewed in focus groups (n=66, with an approximately even gender split). Broad questions were explored, such as whether they felt like 'real scientists' when they 'performed' science in the classroom, whether they enjoyed science, and their science career aspirations. 83% of students stated enjoying science, while 61% would like to have a career involving science in the future. The interview data revealed that, overall, children mostly disagreed that their classroom science was reflective of work a 'real scientist' would do, chiefly due to perceptions of a lack of discovery element in their work, which suggested to them a lack of authentic science exploration, and of the work not being dangerous enough. Students frequently reported feeling that they were 'following steps' because the teacher 'already knew the answers', which was different from the work of a scientist. The implications of these findings to classroom practice are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T02:48:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a18204afc13149c395174dbfbf7edb80 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2323-7112 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T02:48:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | LUMA Centre Finland |
| record_format | Article |
| series | LUMAT |
| spelling | doaj.art-a18204afc13149c395174dbfbf7edb802022-12-21T23:19:48ZengLUMA Centre FinlandLUMAT2323-71122021-09-019110.31129/LUMAT.9.1.1605Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientistsMartina Dickson0Melissa McMinn1Dean Cairns2Sharon Osei-Tutu3Emirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesHigher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesEmirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesIndependent Education Consultant, United KingdomIn rapidly developing countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where this study took place, having a body of competent, dedicated key workers in STEM fields is critical to growing national economies. This, in turn, requires motivated, well-qualified graduates of STEM degrees. School students' perceptions of science, scientists and science careers have been shown in some research to affect uptake of science degrees later on. How much of their science classwork students experience as authentically 'feeling like scientists' is less understood, yet important. This study took place in upper primary science classrooms in the UAE. Immediately following a science lesson, children were interviewed in focus groups (n=66, with an approximately even gender split). Broad questions were explored, such as whether they felt like 'real scientists' when they 'performed' science in the classroom, whether they enjoyed science, and their science career aspirations. 83% of students stated enjoying science, while 61% would like to have a career involving science in the future. The interview data revealed that, overall, children mostly disagreed that their classroom science was reflective of work a 'real scientist' would do, chiefly due to perceptions of a lack of discovery element in their work, which suggested to them a lack of authentic science exploration, and of the work not being dangerous enough. Students frequently reported feeling that they were 'following steps' because the teacher 'already knew the answers', which was different from the work of a scientist. The implications of these findings to classroom practice are discussed.https://journals.helsinki.fi/lumat/article/view/1605childrenscience classroomscientistsperceptions |
| spellingShingle | Martina Dickson Melissa McMinn Dean Cairns Sharon Osei-Tutu Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists LUMAT children science classroom scientists perceptions |
| title | Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists |
| title_full | Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists |
| title_fullStr | Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists |
| title_short | Children's perceptions of scientists, and of themselves as scientists |
| title_sort | children s perceptions of scientists and of themselves as scientists |
| topic | children science classroom scientists perceptions |
| url | https://journals.helsinki.fi/lumat/article/view/1605 |
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