8th grade students' attitudes towards science course: Batman example

The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of 8th grade students towards science. The research was conducted using the descriptive survey model. Data were collected from 468 8th grade students studying in the central district of Batman through random sampling. It was determined that the collected data had high reliability and showed a normal distribution. Frequency, mean, percentage, t-test, and ANOVA were used in the analysis of the data. The results revealed that among the attitudes of 8th grade students towards science, the highest mean score was related to finding science homework enjoyable. It was also observed that students showed a high level of interest in being able to relate science topics to other scientific disciplines. On the other hand, the lowest mean score, which was at a moderate level, was associated with the necessity of using technology in science textbook activities. Regarding the sub-dimensions of students' attitudes towards science, the highest mean score was in the dimension of attitudes towards methods and techniques, which was at a high level. However, students' attitudes towards relating science to daily life, their attitudes towards the course content, and their general attitudes towards science were found to be at a moderate level. According to the findings, the attitudes of 8th grade students towards science were neither very positive nor very negative. However, their attitudes towards methods and techniques were high and above the averages of other sub-dimensions and the overall mean. While students' attitudes towards the content of the course did not differ significantly by gender, their attitudes towards methods and techniques, their attitudes towards relating science to daily life, and their overall attitudes towards science showed a statistically significant difference in favor of female students. When the students' attitudes towards science were examined in relation to their average science exam scores, it was found that their attitudes towards the course content did not differ significantly. However, their attitudes towards methods and techniques, their attitudes towards relating science to daily life, and their overall attitudes towards science showed statistically significant differences. These differences were in favor of students with higher science exam scores, indicating that students with higher academic achievement in science tended to have more positive attitudes towards the subject. Regarding the mother's educational level, students' attitudes towards relating science to daily life, the course content, and their overall attitudes towards science did not show a significant difference. However, their attitudes towards methods and techniques did differ significantly based on the mother's educational level, with students whose mothers were primary school graduates displaying more positive attitudes. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in students' attitudes towards relating science to daily life, the course content, and their overall attitudes towards science based on the father's educational level. Nevertheless, significant differences were identified in the sub-dimension of attitudes towards methods and techniques. Specifically, students whose fathers were illiterate differed significantly from those whose fathers were high school or university graduates, and students whose fathers were primary school graduates differed from those whose fathers were high school graduates. In all cases, these differences favored students whose fathers had higher educational attainment. Keywords: Science, attitude, student, science, lesson