Examining Grade 9 Students’Conceptions of the Nature of Science

AbstractThe aim of this research was to examine Grade 9 students’ understanding of the nature of science (NoS). There were 37 female and 34 male students participating in this research, all of which were from an education-extended school in the Chaiyaphum Primary Educational Service Area Office 3, Thailand. The students’ conception of the nature of science was examined using an open-ended questionnaire about the nature of science adapted from the one used in Lederman et al. (2002) VNOS-C, and an interview record form. Twenty percent of the students were randomly selected for an interview to probe deeper into their understanding. The data from the questionnaires and interviews were analyzed base on an interpretive paradigm. Research findings indicated that the majority of the students had little awareness, and held naïve views, of all aspects of the nature of science. These findings indicated that the students’ understanding of the nature of science was inadequate and fragmented. An improvement of the students’ understanding of the nature of science is thus necessary