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A Latent Profile Analysis of Students' Attitudes towards Astronomy across Grades 9-13
- Source :
-
International Journal of Science Education . 2024 46(14):1480-1516. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Astronomy is seen as a "gateway" science, inspiring students to pursue Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) related careers. However, there is little evidence that students' attitudes towards astronomy remain stable over time. By integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we identified three dimensions of students' attitudes towards astronomy - intrinsic, which refers to the enjoyment of studying astronomy, extrinsic, which refers to the will to pursue a career in astronomy, and utilitarian, which refers to the relevance of astronomy to society. We used these dimensions as indicators for a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify attitudinal profiles of 2650 Italian students in grades 9-13. We identified seven profiles, ranging from completely negative to completely positive attitudes. In particular, students enter secondary school mostly interested in astronomy and with a positive view of astronomy. By the end of secondary school, students have significantly lower attitudes towards astronomy in all three dimensions identified. From a theoretical perspective, our study shows that the SDT/TPB framework can be used to develop future instruments aimed at measuring students' attitudes towards science. From a practical point of view, our results call for better support for teachers to maintain students' attitudes towards astronomy throughout secondary school.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0950-0693 and 1464-5289
- Volume :
- 46
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- ERIC
- Journal :
- International Journal of Science Education
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- EJ1438729
- Document Type :
- Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research<br />Tests/Questionnaires
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2023.2289485