Abstract
This study investigated forty-one Thai 9th grade students’ understanding about the motion of the sun, moon, and stars within their social and cultural context. Students' understanding was explored using a survey tool titled “Students’ Understanding about Celestial Motion within Their Social and Cultural Context Questionnaire (SCMSCQ).” This questionnaire gave students the opportunity to express their ideas about celestial motion within their social and cultural context. The study reveals some interesting features of student understanding, and particularly their difficulty in
perceiving the relationship between the study of celestial motion and their social and cultural context. Many students used descriptions from their everyday observations of the daily motion of the sun, moon, and stars, rather than scientific explanations, to answer questions about the relationship between social and cultural context and celestial motion. This study has implications for the development of teaching the sociocultural approach in Thailand.
