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The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean high school students' perceptions of their laboratory classrooms, focusing especially on the aspects measured by the items in the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI). The study involved 439 high school students from three different streams (145 from the humanities stream, 195 from the science-oriented stream, and 99 from the science-independent stream). The validity and reliability of a translated version of the SLEI were confirmed when used with Korean students. Associations between laboratory classroom environments and students' attitudes were found. When the perceptions of students from the three streams were compared, it was found that students from the science-independent stream perceived their classroom environments more favorably than did students in the other two streams. Interviews with students confirmed their responses to items in the SLEI and provided additional information about laboratory classroom environments in Korea. (Contains 39 references, 5 tables, and 2 figures.) (Author/MM)

This paper reports on an investigation examining science classrooms in Korea from two perspectives: constructivism and student-teacher interaction patterns. The constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) were used to obtain comprehensive information on science classroom environments. The study involved 10th and 11th grade students from three different streams, 145 grade 11 students from the humanities stream, 195 grade 11 students from the science-oriented stream, and 99 grade 10 students from the science-independent stream. Results indicate distinctive perceptions depending upon which stream students were members of. (Contains 41 references.) (YDS)

The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean high school students' perceptions about their science classrooms, focusing especially on the notions of constructivism. This study is one of the few, which has used the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) in an Asian country. The study involved 439 high school students from 3 different streams, 145 from the humanity stream, 195 from the science-oriented stream, and 99 from the science-independent stream. The validity and reliability of the CLES were confirmed when used with Korean students. Associations between classroom environments and student attitudes were found. When the perceptions of students from the three streams were compared, it was found that students from the science-independent stream perceived their classroom environments more favorably than did students in the other two streams. Interviews with students revealed that students interpreted items in the Critical Voice and Shared Control scales of the CLES in ways that were not intended by the researcher. (Contains 24 references.) (ASK)