Australia has seen declining numbers of students choosing mathematics and science subjects in the senior secondary years, running counter to economic projections of an accelerating need for science and mathematics skills. Many students become less engaged with these subjects in the junior secondary years but attitudes such as self-concept, utility…

Questionnaires in educational research assessing students' attitudes and beliefs are low-stakes for the students. As a consequence, students might not always consistently respond to a questionnaire scale but instead provide more random response patterns with no clear link to items' contents. We study inter-individual differences in students'…

This study aimed to examine the trends in grants for STEM/STEAM education in Japan as well as Japanese students' perception of science learning and future careers. The grants were addressed through analysis of chronological trends, while student perceptions were reviewed through student questionnaires on Trends in International Mathematics and…

Family-related factors, like parent's educational level, their values and expectations have a significant impact on child's early skills and later educational outcomes. Further, parents provide their child, alongside with other learning environments, a broad mathematical and early literacy input. This study investigates the relationship between…

Using an innovative recruitment tool, the social network site Facebook, survey data were gathered from samples of the Australian general public and from around the world. Views on the gendering of mathematics, science, and ICT were gathered. In this paper we report the findings from six of the 15 questions on the survey, and only from respondents…

In "The two cultures and the scientific revolution," C.P. Snow (1959) described the chasm between pure and applied science, on the one hand, and the arts and humanities, on the other. Snow was concerned that the complete lack of understanding between these "two cultures" would hamper the spread of the scientific/industrial…

Focuses on the performance assessment of the practical component in science education, discussing changes over the years in the rationale and methodology of large-scale performance assessment. Illustrates these changes by comparing the Second International Science Study (1984) with the Third International Science and Mathematics Study. Contains 77…

Results for students in England in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are quite good, but some weaknesses in the performance of Year 9 students on the practical tasks in science and mathematics of the TIMSS that are not apparent when overall results are examined are discussed. (SLD)

Describes mathematics and science instruction in the Czech Republic and results from the performance assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Czech performance on the written test was excellent, but performance assessment results show the low priority given hands-on tasks and performance assessment in the Czech…

The investigation reported in this paper was prompted by discrepancies between the published outcomes from two international tests of science achievement: (1) the Second International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP2), administered in 1991; and (2) the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), administered in 1995. One…

Describes the achievement of Israeli fourth and eight graders on the performance assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The Israeli educational system has stressed practical tasks, and as expected, performance of Israeli students on the TIMSS performance assessment is quite high. (SLD)

Shows how latent variable growth modeling can be utilized to examine change in students' attitudes toward science over the middle and high school years. Reports that students' attitudes toward science generally decline during the middle and high school years. Defines the factors that affect student attitudes as teacher encouragement, peer…

This report is based on inspections of science in primary and secondary schools carried out between September 2000 and March 2004. In addition to schools inspected as part of the generational cycle, HMI also visited other primary and secondary schools to observe and describe aspects of best practice. The report also draws on other major sources of…

The 12 chapters of this special issue focus on national findings and analyses from five Western European countries that participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international comparative study of mathematics and science achievement. Focuses on populations of 9- and 13-year olds in England, Germany, Sweden,…

For the most part, the performance of U.S. students on the main part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) failed to meet expected standards, and results of the TIMSS performance assessment do not give much cause for celebration either. (SLD)