A comparative study of Chinese and Australian primary school students’ perceptions of scientists and the learning of school science

© 2011 Hui ChengFor many decades, much research has been conducted to investigate young children’s images of science and scientists and a stereotypical image was reported, especially in the Western world (Barman, 1997; Chambers, 1983; Finson, Beaver & Cramond, 1995; Matthews & Davies, 1999; Newton & Newton, 1992, 1998; Schibeci & Sorensen, 1983). Similar studies conducted in other cultures have reported differences in students’ perceptions of scientists (Fung, 2002; Manubu, Shigenori & Hayashi, 2002; She, 1995, 1998; Song & Kim, 1999; Turkmen, 2008) and comparative studies between different cultural and educational backgrounds were called for (Fung, 2002). This call is consistent with the increasing priority for international research given by the education community in the highly interconnected contemporary world (Clarke, 2006; Kubow & Fossum, 2007; Phillips & Schweisfurth, 2008). This study is an exploratory pilot study responding to this call. It aims to explore primary school children’s perceptions of science, scientists and the learning of school science from two different countries with differing education backgrounds. The research investigates the perceptions of students and examines the similarities and differences. It also aims to better understand the possible contributions made by the different learning experiences from both parties. Twenty-four students from one Chinese and one Australian primary school (twelve from each school) were invited to participate in this study. The twelve students in each school came from two year levels: Year 2 and Year 5, six in each year level. For each participant, the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST) (Chambers, 1983) was administered followed by a conversational interview with the researcher. The findings show that the Chinese and Australian primary students have different images of scientists, with the Chinese one less stereotypical. The study also revealed that some Australian children did not perceive scientists as a stereotype; yet still represented stereotypical scientists when they were asked to draw them. The students’ perceptions from the two countries differed on several aspects such as the ability to make connections between science and the real world and their understanding of the nature of science. However the declining level of interest in learning science from Year 2 to Year 5 was noted as being evident in both countries. Attempts to distinguish particular learning experiences in either country which might have contributed to these students’ perceptions of scientists and science are discussed. The implications for primary science education and recommendations for further investigation are also included