The aim of this study is to investigate the elementary school students&amp / #8217 / understandings of the nature of science (NOS). A total of 1949 students (1026 sixth graders and 923 eighth graders) from six different elementary schools participated in the study. Nature of Science Questionnaire for Elementary Level (E-NOS) questionnaire, adapted from Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) developed by Aikenhead, Fleming and Ryan (1989) and Views on Nature of Science (VNOS-D) constructed by Lederman, Adb-El-Khalick, Bell and Schwartz (2002), was used to assess the students&amp / #8217 / views on the NOS. E-NOS consisted of eleven items that examined the students&amp / #8217 / views on seven constructs concerning the NOS, namely tentativeness, subjectivity and creativity of scientific knowledge, social and cultural embeddedness of science, the role of observations and inferences, theories and laws and uncertainty in developing science. Additionally, the definitions of science, the difference of science from the other disciplines and scientific approach in scientific investigations were examined. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted by twelve volunteer students (7 sixth and 5 eighth graders) to investigate the students&amp / #8217 / views on nature of science in depth. Data were analyzed both frequency and Chi-squire analyses. Results of this study revealed that the majority of Turkish elementary school students held traditional views on some aspects of the nature of science. According to these results, it was especially notable that the largest group of the students was not aware of the fact that scientific theories and laws are different kinds of scientific knowledge. In addition, many of the students had the idea that there is certain and defined scientific method in order to develop scientific knowledge. It was also found that more 8th grade students held contemporary (realistic) views of the tentative and subjective nature of science and the role of precision and uncertainty in science and more 6th graders had contemporary views on the role of observations and inferences in science. Furthermore, it was indicated that more female students than males possessed contemporary views on the subjectivity and creativity of the nature of science. Chi-square statistics also displayed that there are statistically significant differences in distributions of the students&amp / #8217 / responses on all aspects of the nature of science with respect to grade level. In addition, it was found that there are statistically significant differences in distributions of the students&amp / #8217 / responses on the subjective nature of scientific knowledge, social and cultural embeddedness of the scientific knowledge, creativity and the role of prediction and uncertainty in science and scientific approach to investigations in science with respect to gender.

The purpose of the study was to assess 5th grade Turkish students&rsquo / environmental literacy (EL) level by considering six EL components, and explore the factors predicting the environmentally responsible behaviors (ERB) of these students. The research design of the study was nation-wide survey. The sample of the survey consisted of 2412 fifth grade students selected from 78 elementary schools (26 private and 52 public) in 26 provinces across Turkey. Developed by the researcher, Elementary School Environmental Literacy Instrument (ESELI) including five parts and total 81 items was used as data collection instrument. To analyze quantitative data, descriptive statistics, ANOVA, multiple correlation and path analysis were conducted. The responses to open-ended question were subjected to content analysis. The results of the study revealed that EL score of the students was found 149 (SD=26.19) suggesting moderate level of EL and 64.1% of the students (n=1545) had moderate level EL. The factors significantly affecting 5th grade students&rsquo / ERB and the effect size of these factors were as follows / school type (partial =.007), taking pre-school education (partial =.002), mother education level (partial =.007), father education level (partial =.012), residence (partial =.008), experiences in the natural regions (partial =.046), curiosity toward environmental information (partial =.048), mother environmental concern (partial =.023), father environmental concern (partial =.031) and sibling environmental concern (partial =.014). Furthermore, a combination of environmental knowledge, willingness to take environmental action, cognitive skills, and environmental attitude and environmental sensitivity explained 12% of the variance in ERB. As a conclusion, the results of the presents study will shed light on the attempts on policy making and curriculum development regarding environmental education.

The purpose of the present study is to design and examine the effects of a Friendship Making Skills Training with Board Game on friendship making skills of fourth grade elementary school students. An experimental design (2X2) with one training and one control group and two measurements (pre and post) was used in the present study. The participants were 18, fourth grade students from a state elementary school in Altindag province in Ankara. Data were collected by the Friendship Making Skills Assessment Scale (FMSAS) that was developed by the researcher to measure the friendship making skills of the students. The experimental group (n=9) received a nine-week friendship making skills training with board game, which was developed by the researcher, while the control group (n=9) did not receive any training. The experimental group met twice a week, for duration of 40 minutes for each session. Non-parametric analysis was conducted by using Mann-Whitney U Test and Wilcoxon Sign Tests. The results revealed that though there was no significant difference between experimental and control groups&rsquo / Friendship Making Skills Assessment Scale (FMSAS) pre-test and post-test scores, experimental group participants gained significantly higher total scores at the end of the study.

The purpose of the study is to investigate 8th grade Turkish students&rsquo / perceptions towards civic concepts and issues like good citizenship, government responsibilities and women&rsquo / s political and social rights and to determine the factors affecting their intentions to participate in electoral, political and civic activities. In order to achieve this aim, a nation-wide survey was conducted with a sample of 2497 students from 60 schools in 21 provinces. The questionnaire developed by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) on civic education was adapted and used as the data collection instrument. The data obtained from the sample were analyzed through both descriptive (mean, frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (ANOVA, Hierarchical Multiple Regression). The results revealed that students value both conventional and social movement citizenship activities to be a good citizen. However, although they plan to participate in electoral and civic activities, more than half of them do not plan to participate in political activities such as joining a party, being a candidate for a local office. Moreover, it was found that the variances in students&rsquo / intentions to participate in electoral, political and civic activities were explained by students&rsquo / background characteristics, their media consumption habits, their discussion practices and discussion environment in classrooms, curricular and extracurricular experiences and finally by their perceptions of good citizenship and participation in school. Findings were discussed around relevant literature both in Turkey and abroad.

A cross age study was conducted to investigate 6th, 7th and 8th grade students&rsquo / value orientations, environmental optimism, and environmental concern. In addition, gender and grade level differences in the environmental-related attributes were examined. A total of 938 (491 girls and 447 boys) students attending public schools located in Kelkit, the district of Gumushane, were administered a questionnaire consisting of Demographics, Environmental Attitudes and Apathy Scales, Environmental Concern Scale , Environmental Optimism Scale, Locus of Control Scale and Conservation Behavior Scale. In general, students who participated in the current study found to endorse eco-centric attitudes, and express a high degree of concern as well as optimism level about the current and future state of the environmental issues and problems. They also seemed to be interested in environmental issues and problems and perceived environmental problems as one of the two or three most important problems currently being faced. In order to examine the role of gender and grade level on students&rsquo / environmental attitudes, two separate two-way MANOVAs were conducted. The results revealed a statistically significant gender and grade level differences both on students&rsquo / ecocentric, apathy and anthropocentric attitudes and on students&rsquo / environmental optimism and concern levels.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980.

The current study examined the effects of two computer-delivered phonological awareness training programs (Earobics Step 1 and Lexia Early Reading) on the early literacy skills of kindergarten and first grade students at risk for reading failure. The study utilized a multi-group pretest-treatment-posttest design. Student participants, who were identified for the study through a school-wide screening, were randomly assigned to one of three groups (i.e., Earobics, Lexia Early Reading, or control), and their progress was monitored throughout a five-week intervention period. Results using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to examine differences in adjusted mean post-test scores indicated that the Earobics program produced better outcomes than the Lexia and control groups as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Results of a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis examining initial status and rates of growth also indicated greater rates of change among the Earobics group when compared with the Lexia and control groups. The Earobics program was shown to be an effective intervention for improving early literacy skills for students at risk for reading failure. Implications of the study for working with early elementary students who show deficits in phonological awareness are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to develop a case study to understand the processes and outcomes of reading intervention as conducted in the specific context of a large school district in north Texas. In particular, the study examined how students were identified as needing reading intervention and their subsequent success on measures of reading achievement over a period of three years in comparison with students who were not identified for reading intervention. This study employed a sequential mixed methods design in which the collection and analysis of quantitative data preceded qualitative data collection and analysis. Interview data were collected to illuminate the processes and challenges of conducting reading intervention in the classroom setting. The findings determined that the district is successful in its aims related to reading achievement on standardized measures of reading in grades three, four, and five despite a lack of evidence that success could be contributed solely to the provision of reading intervention. Three findings emerged: 1) students were served with a combination of services determined by each campus in the study, 2) teachers' provision of reading instruction did not align with district recommendations, and 3) students identified for reading intervention and served with either of the intervention programs were successful on measures of reading achievement but did not attain similar levels of achievement as non-identified peers. / text

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 61-77).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-77). Also available in print.