Abstract
Purpose of the Study: The major purpose of this study was to identify the relationship, if any, between teachers’ attitudes toward science and their background in science. Particular interest was placed on practicing teachers' college-science exposure.
Procedure: Data for this study were obtained during the spring of 2002 via a survey, which was available to practicing teachers via the Internet or by print. A descriptive science demographic section accompanied the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Demographic information for the practicing teachers included the type of college, two or four-year, science instruction received, years since science instruction, age, and areas of science instruction including biology, geology, chemistry, physical science and astronomy. Hypotheses were established and tested using correlation and t-test analyses.
Results: The research determined that: 1) teachers prepared at two-year and four-year institutions feel about the same toward science, 2) the more science courses that a practicing teacher took at at wo-year college resulted in a more favourable impression of science by the teacher,3)a practicing teacher who earned a higher science GPA while in college felt more positively about science than a teacher who earned a lower science GPA, and 4) practicing teachers were more likely to dislike science if they had taken biology while in college.
