Attitude and Beliefs on Learning: Where do they begin?

Educators, teachers, and students are all learners. Educators equip teachers with essential training, who in turn educate students. Who influences attitudes and beliefs about learning?

In our educational system where do

attitude and beliefs begin.

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In 1975, Gardner defined attitudes toward science ‘‘as a learned predisposition to evaluate in certain ways objects, people, actions, situations or propositions involved in learning science (p. 1).'' In early 2000, poor measurements for the effects of achievement motivation on attitudes toward science exists. Rani (2000) insists the change of students' attitudes toward science can measure over time using the application of a latent variable growth model. For decades, researchers have desired to measure individual attitude change relevant to science, but how it has been measured was subpart. In more recent years, implications of research, show the need to continuously measure behavior when measuring attitude toward science. Using latent variable growth modeling, Rani (2000) found that students' attitudes towards science decline during the middle and high school years. This finding is consistent with research dating back to the 1990s.

Nevertheless, the researcher believes the decline is possibly related to the type of science courses taken by students in these grades. In a 2003 review of literature, it was pointed out that the concept of an attitude towards science is often poorly articulated and not well understood (Osborne et al.). Over the years, articulation seems to have improved some, but the need for remediation may still exist.

Influence in learning varies from the teachers to the parents to peers. Research suggests that attitudes are learned, and the influence of others is significant and a key factor in the development of a students' attitude toward science (Gardner, 1975; Osbourne et al., 2003). Teachers and the learning environment are presumed by many researchers as having the greatest influence on attitudes. However, parental attitude about education is a constant influencer on students' attitudes. Prior research identifies attitudes to science as being more critically dependent on the support of the mother. The perception is mothers may be unwittingly perpetuating the inequalities in science by encouraging their sons more than their daughters. Parental aspirations for their child's academics and career and teachers are significant influences on students' attitudes about science. There are other significant influencers such as peers, environment, early childhood experiences, culture, and gender (Osbourne et al., 2003).

Rani (2000) posits a need for good measurement of constructs. In research, the concern over what is being measured in school science specifically the need to move away from general quantitative measures of attitude constructs and, to explore specific issues of student attitude to school science and their attitude to studying additional courses in science. He argues that organizations such as the NCES, NSF, and IEA need to use previously validated scales to measure important theoretical constructs.

My question:

In examining the literature on beliefs in teaching and learning, it is frequently noted that the education a teacher receives can influence their beliefs and, consequently, their teaching methods. Concerning attitudes towards science, these attitudes can be shaped or strengthened, either negatively or positively, during the learning phase for both teachers and students. Proposed solutions appear to focus more on the teacher and student rather than addressing the training of the teacher's educator. Is this a societal issue that should be addressed?

References

Gardner, P. L. (1975). Attitudes to Science. Studies in Science Education, 2, 1-41.

Osborne, J., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes towards science: A review of the literature and its implications. International Journal of Science Education, 25(9), 1049-

1079.

Rani, G. (2000). Measuring change in students' attitudes toward science over time: An

application of latent variable growth modeling. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 9(3), 213-225.

"Teachers and the learning environment are presumed by many researchers as having the greatest influence on attitudes."

21st Century Instructional Skills

"Inspire creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication so that students are ready for tomorrow's world." (Olga Nessipbayeva, Suleyman Demirel University, Pre-service and In-service Teacher Training)