The relationship between form 4 students’ perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes towards science

Leona A Candia; Lay Yoon Fah

doi:10.51200/jpp.v8i1.8243

Authors

Leona A Candia SM. St. Anthony, Tenom, Sabah, Malaysia
Lay Yoon Fah Faculty of Psychology and Education, Universiti Malaysia Sabah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51200/jpp.v8i1.8243

Keywords:

science classroom environment, attitudes towrd science, gender, school loations, rural, urban, science education, interest in science

Abstract

It is essential to develop positive attitudes towards science as one of the legitimate goals of science education in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students' perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes toward science. This study was a non-experimental quantitative research and employed a sample survey method to collect data. Samples were selected by using the two-stage cluster random sampling. In this study, the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA) was adopted to measure students' attitudes towards science while students' perception towards classroom environment was measured with the 'What Is Happening In This Class' (WIHIC) instrument. Independent sample t-test, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to test the stated null hypotheses at a predetermined significance level, alpha = .05. Data analysis showed that gender and school locations did not have a significant effect on students' perceptions of science classroom environment. Gender also did not have a significant effect on students' attitudes toward science. However, school locations had a significant effect on students' attitudes toward science in which urban schools' students had more positive attitudes toward science than their rural peers. Correlation analysis results showed that there was positive low to moderate significant correlations between students' perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes toward science. Multiple regression analysis showed that students' perception of science classroom environment is a significant predictor of students' attitudes toward science in Tenom and Kota Kinabalu. Further analysis showed that WIHIC’s subscale of Task Orientation is the most significant predictor to students’ attitudes toward science. It is suggested that science teachers emphasize the completion of science work and activities to improve student’s overall attitudes towards science. Not only that, further help is needed from school and education administrators to improve teaching and learning instruments for science teachers to make varieties of science activities to accommodate students’ learning.

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