Examination of middle school students' anxiety levels towards science

One of the important factors affecting learning is the existing or developing anxieties of students. The effect of anxiety on learning is also valid for science-related learning processes and affects this process. In this context, it is thought that it is important to investigate and determine the causes affecting anxiety towards science. From this point of view, the aim of this study is to examine the science anxiety levels of middle school students. In line with this purpose, the "Science Anxiety of Middle School Students Scale (SAMS)" was developed and the anxiety levels of the students were evaluated. This study, which consists of quantitative data, is survey research. The data collection process of the research was carried out in the 2018-2019 academic year. During the data collection process, a five-point Likert-type SAMS consisting of 13 items was used. The development process of the SAMS was carried out by 354 participants. The implementation process of the SAMS was carried out with 659 students studying at the middle school level of public schools located in three different city centers in Turkey. SPSS package program was used in the data analysis process. When the results were examined, no statistically significant difference was found between the anxiety levels of female students and male students. Accordingly, it was concluded that there was no significant relationship between anxiety towards science and gender. When the results of the analysis of the one-factor ANOVA based on the grade level were examined, it was seen that there was a significant difference between the science anxiety levels of the middle school students and their grade levels. It was observed that the level of anxiety increased in the transition from the 5th to the 6th grade, but this difference was not statistically significant. However, when the 5th grade and 7th grade levels were compared, it was concluded that the anxiety levels of the 7th grade students were statistically higher. A similar result is also valid for students studying at the 5th and 8th grade levels. It was observed that the anxiety levels of the students studying in the 8th grade were statistically higher than the students studying in the 5th grade. As the grade level increases, the increase in the level of anxiety is considered as a remarkable finding. As a matter of fact, this increase in the level of anxiety may negatively affect both students' science learning and their orientation to science fields.