Eight grade student's perceptions of physics and their motivation towards science

In this research, it was aimed to determine the motivation of students towards science and to examine its relationship with their perceptions of physics. In the context of science education, it is important to determine the student motivation regarding lessons, considering the positive effect of motivation on learning science and success. The starting point of the research was to examine the motivations for the science course and their relationship with the physics perceptions in the mind of the student. The causal-comparison research design, which is a pattern of quantitative research methods, was used in the research. The target population of the study consisted of all eighth graders studying in secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Kütahya. The accessible universe was all eighth graders studying in secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Kütahya. The sample consisted of 630 eighth grade students from seven different schools in Kütahya. Appropriate sampling method was used to select the participants and the scales were applied under the supervision of the researchers. Data were collected using two different instruments in the study. The first one is the physics perception scale and the second is the physics perception scale; The Science Motivation Scale. The translation and adaptation of the CoPQ tool into Turkish was done by three researchers. The CoPQ measurement tool has a total of 15 items consisting of two different dimensions. The CoPQ measurement tool has two dimensions as fragmented and cohesive. There are seven Fragmented items in the first dimension and eight Cohesive items in the second dimension. Expert opinion on the items was taken. In the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), which was developed by Glynn and Koballa (2006), it was aimed to measure student motivation to learn science. This scale includes 30 items in a five-point Likert format. The scale consists of six sub-dimensions: intrinsic motivation to learn science, extrinsic motivation to learn science, interest in learning science, determination to learn science, self-efficacy about learning science, and anxiety about science exams. The maximum value that can be obtained from the physics perception measurement tool is 75 and the minimum value is 15. In the Science Motivation Questionnaire developed, the highest score that can be collected is 140 and the lowest score is 28. With the help of this research, how students perceive physics within the scope of Science course was revealed and its relationship with motivation to Science course was examined. The suitability of the concept of physics that the scale would create in the minds of students was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. As a result of confirmatory and explanatory factor analyzes, the validity of the measurement tools was proven. Moreover, it was observed that gender was not related to physics perception, while school type would be an effective factor in terms of physics perceptions. The direction of these interactions can be examined by applying different control mechanisms with various experimental researches to be made from now on. In this context, it is expected that the results of this study will contribute to science education. Key Words: Motivation, Physics Perceptions, Science Education