The effect of the science-fiction books on arousing curiosity about science in secondary school students

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of science-fiction books on arousing secondary school students' curiosity about science. The research was conducted among 60 students attending to 5th and 6th grades in a secondary school in Giresun, Güce district during 2015-2016 school year. The students were divided into one control group and one experimental group. In control group, 2013 Science Curriculum was followed. In experimental group, 12 different science-fiction books were added to the exact same curriculum. In this research, quantitative data were collected via Science Curiosity Scale; qualitative data were collected via semi-structured diaries. After these tests, the resulting quantitative data were analysed by means of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) 16 program and the qualitative data were analysed by means of content analysis. As a result of the research, a meaningful difference was detected in favour of the experimental group in terms of science curiosity score, compared to the control group who hadn't read the books. In addition to this, the semi-structured diaries revealed some remarks which state that science-fiction books pique curiosity about science. Moreover, the content analysis of the diaries introduced several themes such as the celestial bodies, spaceships, diversity of life, environmental problems, simple machines and innovation, all of which coincide with science learning outcomes. At the same time, these themes are considered to contribute to innovative thinking which is included in 2017 Science Curriculum. Key Words: secondary school, science-fiction books, science-fiction, curiosity, science education, science literate, science learning outcomes.