Construction and Validation of an Instrument to measure the attitude towards science
The work reported here is an effort to construct and validate an instrument to measure the students' attitude towards science. This work is likely to be a predictor of students' emotional attachment to science and is expected to help to classify or enroll students in science for higher grades. 150 students of 6th grade (of age 10.5 -12.5 years) were randomly selected from the male schools of Federal Area Islamabad (Nilore) and the Provincial area of Punjab (district Jhelum and Gujrat). The construct was broken down into eight domains (Reflectivity, Critical observation, Rationality, Objectivity, Productivity, Appreciation, Curiosity and Courage). Forty statements were developed which related to the study of science and the students were asked to respond to these statements on a five point Likert scale. To accept or reject the statements, t-test was used. For this purpose, the research considered the frequency distribution of scores based upon the responses to all students. The value of 't' for each statement was calculated and compared with the table value. The statement having t-value greater than t-table were retained while others were removed from the instrument. Finally, 25 statements were retained in the instrument. This final attitude questionnaire was administered to the sample and all the statements were evaluated. The marks for each student were added up to give a total score. The highest scores is said to indicate the most positive attitude. This research makes it possible to locate the uninteresting contents in the science textbooks for elementary classes. The outcome suggests some ways by which science curriculum planners and text- book writers can produce material in science, which will prove interesting and attractive for elementary level students. This study may also be helpful for teachers to modify their teaching strategies, by relating the cognitive objectives with affective.