Database of Publications

STUDENTS’ VIEWS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE COMMUNICATION CODE USED IN PRESS ARTICLES ABOUT SCIENCE

Krystallia Halkia, Dimitris Mantzouridis

International Journal of Science Education/ Taylor & Francis Group

2005

English

Research

Researchers, Teachers, Policy Makers

Over 10 pages

This study attempts to trace students’ preferences regarding newspaper science articles, and to explore students’ attitudes towards the science articles published in the press. The total sample of the present research consists of 351 upper secondary school (aged 15–17) students from 12 randomly selected secondary schools of the broader region of Athens (Attica).
First, this study shows that a large proportion of Greek students claim to be regular readers of newspapers (42%), while the great majority of them (91.5%) declare themselves to be regular readers of magazines that are not exclusively focused on science. For boys, science is one of the most favoured subjects they choose to read (second among nine), while for girls it is one of the least favoured subjects (seventh among nine). Between the very many science areas covered by the press, students seem to prefer those connected with contemporary technological discoveries and computers. They are also attracted by the subjects referring to cosmology and astronomy.
The results of the study reveal that secondary school students appreciate the information found in newspaper science articles, and they believe that they are much more attractive, interesting and comprehensible than the corresponding content of their science textbooks. Students tend to select science articles which make use of an emotional/‘poetic’ language with a lot of metaphors and analogies in order to introduce mentally demanding science concepts. On the contrary, students avoid science articles that present their data in a rigorous scientific way (via diagrams and abstract graphs). The findings of the research also indicate that the narrative elements found in popularized science articles attract students’ interest and motivate them towards further reading.
The present study supports the fact that press science articles could be of use as educational material. The appeal of the narrative elements in science articles and pictures accompanying press science articles seem to play a decisive role in stimulating student interest Researchers suggest that a ‘hypertext’ form of science textbooks, where occasional press science articles of current concern could be the trigger for motivating students’ interest for science matters. This could lead them to further conscious study of the underlying subject matter, according to their personal abilities and interests. Researchers also argue that, if press science is used carefully and critically, it can help and be supportive to formal education.

Intrinsic motivation and personal relevance is a major dimension of student motivation to engage in science learning. This dimension considers science intrinsically motivating (interesting, enjoyable, etc) when it is personally relevant (valuable, important, etc) and vice versa. The study presented in this document, showed that upper secondary school students found newspaper science articles much more attractive, interesting and comprehensible than the corresponding content of their science textbooks. Consequently, researchers suggest the use of press science articles in science classrooms as a mode of enhancing student motivation to study and learn scientific subjects. Researchers strongly share the argument that, if press science is used carefully and critically, it can help and be supportive to formal education. In that respect, university scholars have to seek (and re-establish) their own role as well and consider their responsibility in popularizing science since, through their intervention; science knowledge may return to the science classroom.
The results reached in this document are strongly relevant with the national (Greek) reality of the subject “student motivation” and they are substantiated via a carefully designed research methodology. The document is an original piece of published scientific work, aiming to motivate scientists, science educators and science policy makers in identifying and implementing novel ways to increase and sustain scientific literacy.

T.E.I of Ionian Islands - Department of Environmental Technology and Ecology