The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics?
This article uses data from students in England to pilot and validate an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ instrument which explores secondary school students’ perceptions of the relationship between science and religion, as well as their attitudes towards science and towards religion. This instru...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/937 |
| _version_ | 1797460201453912064 |
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| author | Tamjid Mujtaba Michael Reiss |
| author_facet | Tamjid Mujtaba Michael Reiss |
| author_sort | Tamjid Mujtaba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article uses data from students in England to pilot and validate an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ instrument which explores secondary school students’ perceptions of the relationship between science and religion, as well as their attitudes towards science and towards religion. This instrument was developed in part from previous studies and is intended for educators and researchers for both pedagogical and research purposes. The post-pilot questionnaire was then used with 1102 Year 9/10 students from 18 schools in England to answer two research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between students’ attitudes towards science and their perceptions as to whether science and religion are compatible? (2) What are the characteristics of students who report that science and religion are compatible? Students who reported that science and religion were compatible had more positive perceptions of science and of their ability in science, were more likely to have future aspirations in science and showed more positive attitudes towards science education. There was no statistically significant difference between Christian and Muslim students in their responses about the compatibility of science and religion, nor about whether evolution and creationism should be taught in the science classroom. Muslim students were as positive as were Christian students about their science education and the benefits of science; however, they were less positive about the role of science in explaining the world. Students who reported science and religion as being compatible were more likely to hold religious beliefs than a belief in scientism. Implications of this research are that there ought to be a place for discussion about the relationship between science and religion within school lessons and that high quality discussion is likely to be fostered by developing students’ critical thinking skills. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:01:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a95880f761984cccb60e11ca04777ab6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:01:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a95880f761984cccb60e11ca04777ab62023-11-24T14:28:47ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022022-12-01121293710.3390/educsci12120937The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics?Tamjid Mujtaba0Michael Reiss1IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, London WC1H 0AL, UKIOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, London WC1H 0AL, UKThis article uses data from students in England to pilot and validate an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ instrument which explores secondary school students’ perceptions of the relationship between science and religion, as well as their attitudes towards science and towards religion. This instrument was developed in part from previous studies and is intended for educators and researchers for both pedagogical and research purposes. The post-pilot questionnaire was then used with 1102 Year 9/10 students from 18 schools in England to answer two research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between students’ attitudes towards science and their perceptions as to whether science and religion are compatible? (2) What are the characteristics of students who report that science and religion are compatible? Students who reported that science and religion were compatible had more positive perceptions of science and of their ability in science, were more likely to have future aspirations in science and showed more positive attitudes towards science education. There was no statistically significant difference between Christian and Muslim students in their responses about the compatibility of science and religion, nor about whether evolution and creationism should be taught in the science classroom. Muslim students were as positive as were Christian students about their science education and the benefits of science; however, they were less positive about the role of science in explaining the world. Students who reported science and religion as being compatible were more likely to hold religious beliefs than a belief in scientism. Implications of this research are that there ought to be a place for discussion about the relationship between science and religion within school lessons and that high quality discussion is likely to be fostered by developing students’ critical thinking skills.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/937surveysciencereligionChristianmuslimattitudes |
| spellingShingle | Tamjid Mujtaba Michael Reiss The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? Education Sciences survey science religion Christian muslim attitudes |
| title | The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? |
| title_full | The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? |
| title_fullStr | The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? |
| title_short | The Development of an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ Instrument for Secondary School Students: How Are the Attitudes of Students to Science and Religion Associated with Student Religion and Other Characteristics? |
| title_sort | development of an attitudes to science and religion instrument for secondary school students how are the attitudes of students to science and religion associated with student religion and other characteristics |
| topic | survey science religion Christian muslim attitudes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/12/12/937 |
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