Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 99

Journal of
TÜRK FEN EĞİTİMİ DERGİSİ TURKISH SCIENCE EDUCATION
Yıl 5, Sayı 1, Nisan 2008 Volume 5, Issue 1, April 2008

http://www.tused.org

Changes in Turkish Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Personal

Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Science Anxieties during a
Science Method Course

Murat BURSAL 1
1
Inst. Dr., Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Education, Dept. of Primary Education, Sivas, TURKEY

Received: 08.06.2007 Revised: 13.11.2007 Accepted: 15.12.2007

The original language of article is English (v5, n1, April 2008, pp.99-112)

ABSTRACT
This study examines the changes in Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’ personal science
teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs and science anxieties (SANX) during a science methods course.
Although a noticeable, but statistically insignificant, decrease in SANX scores was found, participants’
PSTE scores did not increase during the semester. Interestingly instead, a slight decline was observed in
PSTE scores. No significant gender effect on PSTE and SANX scores was detected. Unlike the relevant
data from other countries, Turkish female pre-service elementary teachers were found to have lower
SANX and higher PSTE scores than their male peers. Based on the data, while the methods course
helped participants slightly reduce their anxieties toward science, around one-third of them expressed
that they did not have adequate pedagogical knowledge to teach science effectively in elementary
schools. Possible improvements in Turkish elementary teacher education programs are discussed in light
of the related literature.

Keywords: Science Teaching Self-efficacy; Science Anxiety; Science Methods Course; Pre-service
Elementary Teacher.

INTRODUCTION
Just three decades ago, Bandura (1977) introduced the term self-efficacy to educational
literature with his social cognitive theory. His main assertion was the interplay between the
behavior, personal factors, and environmental factors. Bandura used the concept of reciprocal
determinism to explain that each of the three factors influences and is also influenced by the
others. Therefore, the personal factors in the cognitive, affective, and biological forms should
not be ignored when investigating the human behavior. Self-efficacy represents the belief that
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an individual possesses and defined as “the beliefs in one’s capability to organize and execute
the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1997, p.3).
Bandura’s new theory was welcomed in research in teaching and Ashton and Webb
(1986) defined two types of teaching efficacy [personal teaching efficacy and outcome
teaching efficacy] along with the definitions of Bandura. Personal teaching efficacy – or
teaching self-efficacy – beliefs indicates a teacher’s confidence in his/her own training or
experience to develop strategies for overcoming obstacles to student learning. Bandura (1977)
hypothesized that “Efficacy expectation is a major determinant of people’s choice of activities,
how much effort they will expend, and how long they will sustain effort in dealing with
stressful situations” (p. 194). Outcome teaching efficacy beliefs, on the other hand, indicates
the expected outcomes of teacher actions, and therefore they are beyond an individual
teacher’s view of his or her personal capabilities.
Since the efficacy beliefs are accepted to be context and subject matter dependent,
definitions have been extended to specific subject areas. In the area of science teaching, two
forms of efficacy beliefs are defined: personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) and science
teaching outcome expectancy (STOE). PSTE – or science teaching self-efficacy – is a person’s
belief in his or her ability to teach science effectively and STOE is the belief that effective
teaching will have a positive effect on student science learning. As Ashton and Webb (1986)
described, PSTE and STOE operate independently, therefore it is possible to see teachers with
high PSTE but low STOE or vice versa (Cantrell, Young, & Moore, 2003; Moore & Watson,
1999).
Since the introduction of the concept of self-efficacy to the literature, there has been a
growing interest to discover the impact of self-efficacy beliefs in science education. The case
is in utmost importance in elementary education because elementary teachers are expected to
teach all subjects in their classrooms, but it is highly that they are equally well prepared to
teach all of those subjects. It has been repeatedly cited that elementary teachers’ negative
beliefs about science had resulted in a science anxiety, poor attitudes toward science, and in an
unwillingness or hesitancy to spend time for teaching science (Ramey-Gassert & Schroyer,
1992). Similarly, many teachers are reported to dislike, fear, and fail to understand science
(Feistritzer & Boyer, 1983). These findings lead to the conclusion that some elementary
teachers’ negative attitudes toward science negatively affect their science teaching self-
efficacy beliefs, which eventually leads to ineffective science instruction.
Low self-efficacious teachers are cited to rely on the overly use of teacher-directed
instruction such as lecturing or text-based instruction and characterized by authoritative
teacher-centered roles. Due to their low levels of confidence in their effectiveness, these
teachers may avoid science experiments and other inquiry experiences to prevent any
challenging outcomes. On the other hand, there is ample evidence stating that high self-
efficacious teachers use more inquiry and student-centered teaching strategies. These teachers
feel confident that they have adequate training or experience to implement teaching strategies
for overcoming the barriers to student learning. High-efficacious teachers found to be more
effective and more likely to spend the time needed to develop science concepts and also their
students had more positive attitudes toward science and achieved higher on achievement tests
(Cantrell et al., 2003; Ramey-Gassert & Schroyer, 1992; Riggs, 1991).
An interesting finding reported in relevant studies is the gender impact on teachers’ self-
efficacy beliefs. Riggs (1991) reported that male elementary teachers experience higher self-
efficacy for teaching science than female teachers in both inservice and preservice situations.
Also, Brownlow, Jacobi, and Rogers (2000) concluded that “Regardless of their actual science
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 101

performance, women are much less self-confident in their capabilities with science and report
much more science anxiety than do men” (p. 120). Unlike the studies conducted in other
countries, Turkish researchers have found that female Turkish preservice elementary teachers
have slightly higher PSTE beliefs than their male peers, but the difference was reported to be
statistically insignificant (Cakiroglu, Cakiroglu, & Boone, 2005; Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007).
Science anxiety has been defined as a fear of aversion toward science concepts,
scientists, and science related activities (Mallow, 1981). Compared to the growing body of
research on anxiety, it is interesting to note that there is few research on science anxiety. In
one of the pioneer studies, Westerback and Long (1990) stated that they could not locate any
published study in which science anxiety was considered a separate phenomenon and
measured. Likewise, prior to this study, no research study was found where Turkish preservice
elementary teachers’ science anxiety levels were investigated. Recently, more researchers
have become interested in investigating this phenomenon, and science anxiety is viewed as a
composition of different forms of anxieties, such as classroom anxiety, test anxiety,
performance anxiety, and anxieties toward other content areas, like reading anxiety and math
anxiety (Wynstra & Cummings, 1993).
Science methods courses in teacher preparation programs are likely the last opportunity
for future elementary teachers to develop teaching strategies, potentially gain positive attitudes
toward science and teaching, and also overcome their anxieties toward science before starting
their student teaching experiences. Nevertheless, limited student teaching experiences required
by Turkish teacher education programs enhances the burden and importance of science
methods courses. For these reasons, the main task of Turkish teacher educators should be
designing science methods courses that will be beneficial to pre-service teachers in these
aspects.
The findings of the previous research about the impact of the science methods courses
on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy levels indicate that these courses are likely to increase
the teaching self-efficacy levels and decrease the anxieties of most of the prospective
elementary teachers (Morrell & Carroll, 2003; Palmer, 2001; Stevens & Wenner 1996). While
there is a growing interest in the effectiveness of teacher education programs in many
countries, there is a lack of data about the Turkish pre-service elementary teachers in regard to
impact of science methods courses on their beliefs about science teaching. Therefore, the
major contribution of this study to the present literature is to provide data about the changes in
pre-service Turkish teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy and science anxiety during a
methods course, and discuss possible changes in the format of these courses to improve the
success of teacher education programs.

1. Elementary Teacher Preparation Program

Elementary school licensure programs in Turkish universities are four-year-long
undergraduate programs and their common curriculum is designed by the Higher Education
Counsel (Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu, YÖK). Turkish teacher candidates take introductory
pedagogical and science content courses in their first two years, prior to taking the methods
courses. The participants of this study had taken the following five science courses prior to
this study: biology (3 credits), chemistry (3 credits), physics (3 credits), environmental science
(2 credits) and science laboratory (2 credits).
Teaching methods courses in elementary reading and writing, science, mathematics, and
social studies are offered in the third year of the program. The year after completing these
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 102

methods courses, Turkish pre-service teachers start their student teaching in their final year.
Teaching practicum is a seminar course where students practice in schools and share their
experiences in their university classroom. For a minimum of 12 weeks, Turkish pre-service
teacher are required to attend elementary schools for one full day or two half days. Upon
successful completion of the undergraduate program within eight semesters, Turkish pre-
service teacher receive elementary school teaching licensure to teach at the 1-5 grades in all
public and private elementary schools (YÖK, 1998).

2. Science Methods Course

The science methods course investigated in this study was the final one for teaching
science. Further, it was designed in a way that students practiced the theoretical knowledge
they learned in the previous science content and methods courses. The science methods course
was a three-credit course and two-hour-long class sessions were held twice a week during the
thirteen week semester. From the classroom observations, the instruction method was mostly
teacher-centered and text-book based. The participants completed a science experiment every
week, but they were required to follow the procedures that were given in the course textbook
and confirm the results. Since micro teaching at elementary schools was not a requirement, the
participants did not do any first-hand teaching experience during the semester as a course
assignment. The participants were required to take a midterm and final exam to pass the
science methods course and the exam questions required student knowledge about the science
content of the activities.

The purpose of this study is to:

• Investigate the impact of a science methods course on personal science teaching efficacy
(PSTE) beliefs of Turkish pre-service elementary teachers.
• Investigate the impact of a science teaching methods course on science anxieties (SANX)
of Turkish pre-service elementary teachers.
• Investigate whether there is any gender effect on Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’
personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs.
• Investigate whether there is any gender effect on Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’
science anxieties (SANX).

METHODOLOGY
a) Sample
The purposive sample of this study consisted of 154 junior Turkish elementary teacher
candidates from three classrooms. The participants were enrolled in a science methods course
at a mid-sized Anatolian University. The course was taught by the same instructor in the same
building at different times of the week. The participants were in their third year of a four-year
teacher education program; 87 of them were male, and 67 were female. Their ages were
between 19 and 30 years, with a median age of 21. The data used in the paired-samples
analysis was collected from 115 students (66 males and 49 females) who appeared in both the
pretest and the posttest. Prior to the methods course, all participants had taken the previous
licensure courses required by the teacher education program. In addition to the science
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 103

methods course, participants were also enrolled in elementary mathematics, social science, and
reading methods courses during the research study.

b) Instruments and Data Analysis

The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) (Enochs & Riggs, 1990)
and the Science Anxiety (SANX) survey were administered at the beginning and end of the
science methods course as traditional pre- and post-test to measure the changes in participants’
scores in those respective variables. To analyze the changes in participants’ self-efficacy
beliefs and anxiety levels during the science methods course period, paired-samples t tests
were used to compare the pre- and post-test data.
The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) was developed by Enochs
and Riggs in 1990, and it is a widely used instrument to assess self-efficacy beliefs of pre- and
in-service teachers regarding science instruction in schools. The instrument consists of two
subsets: personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) and science teaching outcome expectancy
(STOE). PSTE consists of 13 items and STOE consists of 10 items, each to be rated by the
respondent on a one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree) rating scale. Personal science
teaching efficacy beliefs refer to the extent that teachers believe they have the capacity to
positively affect students’ achievement. The internal reliability alpha coefficient of the PSTE
scale of the STEBI-B was calculated to be .90 (Enochs & Riggs, 1990).
On the other hand, some researchers reported their reservations on the use of the STOE
scale of the STEBI-B in today’s classrooms. As Enochs and Riggs (1990) noted, outcome
expectancy is a difficult construct to measure due to its complex nature. Research since the
introduction of the STEBI often cites that the outcome expectancy construct is usually viewed
inconsistently among preservice teachers, as opposed to the consistent results from the PSTE
scale. Mullholland, Dorman, and Odgers (2004) argue that one of the reasons for the low
reliability of the STOE scale in recent studies is the evolving view of teachers’ roles in today’s
classrooms. According to them, the STOE items emphasize the teacher-centered approach,
while student-centered teaching is highly encouraged in current teacher preparation programs.
Mullholland et al. concludes that, “within this new mindset, teachers are learning facilitators
and it is plausible that contemporary pre-service teachers cannot see the relevance of STOE
items” (p. 327). Since the goal in this study is to investigate the changes in personal efficacy,
only the PSTE scale of the STEBI-B instrument was administered in pre- and post-test.
The STEBI-B survey was translated into Turkish by the author and a Turkish doctoral
student majoring in elementary science education at an American university. The factor
analysis data showed that all items in the Turkish version of the STEBI-B provided higher
contribution than .440 in the pretest and .308 in the posttest, but item 1 in the pretest which
had a factor loading of .275. Since item 1 contributed at significant level in the posttest (factor
loading = .308), it was kept in the analysis for the paired-samples comparison. The Cronbach’s
alpha reliability coefficient for the PSTE scale was found to be .89 for the pretest and .83 for
the posttest data. These data show that Turkish version of the STEBI-B used in this study was
a valid and reliable instrument to measure Turkish elementary pre-service teachers’ science
teaching self-efficacy beliefs. Detailed STEBI-B factor analysis results can be found in
Appendix A.
The Science Anxiety (SANX) survey was designed by the author to measure pre-service
teachers’ science anxiety levels and contains 20 statements, each to be rated by the respondent
on a one (no anxiety) to five (high anxiety) rating scale (Possible scores range from 20 to 100).
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 104

The statements describe everyday life and academic situations requiring scientific thought or
tasks, and are rated as to the degree of anxiety that the respondent perceived he/she would
experience in the given situations. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients of .91 were
calculated for both the pre- and post-test SANX data. The factor analysis data showed that all
items in the SANX survey contributed to the “science anxiety” factor. The cut-off point was
selected .3, as traditionally accepted, and all items in pre- and post-tests provided higher
contributions than .329 and .428 respectively. Therefore, this study also serves as the
validation of the SANX survey for the Turkish pre-service elementary teacher population. A
copy of the SANX survey and factor analysis results can be found in Appendixes B and C.
In addition to the surveys, a questionnaire was designed by the author, which consisted
of two likert-scale questions. The questions investigated students’ self-perceptions about their
enjoyment level of studying in science and pedagogical knowledge level to teach science at
elementary schools. The first question included a five-point rating scale of “very much dislike
(1)” to “very much enjoy (5)” with a neutral option, and the second question included a four-
point rating scale of “incompetent (1)” to “competent (4)”.

c) Observation
During the science methods course semester, the researcher attended 60 two-hour class
periods with the participants in three different classrooms. The researcher’s role was the
participant observer. Along with the notes from informal conversations, field notes were used
to record the types of classroom activities, student participation, and the interactions between
the instructor and the students. After every class period, field notes were reread and
summarized into a one page summary. The observation data was compared with the
quantitative findings to explain the pretest and posttest survey results.

FINDINGS
The summary of the participants’ mean scores for the PSTE subset of the STEBI-B and
SANX surveys are given in Table 1. The paired-samples test results indicate that the mean
PSTE score of the participants slightly declined (∆PSTE=-0.16; p=.817) during the science
methods course. Also, a noticeable, but statistically insignificant (∆SANX=-2.36: p=.07),
decline in the mean SANX score was observed from pretest to posttest.

Table 1. Participants’ Pre- and Post-test PSTE and SANX Scores

PSTE SANX
Mean S. D. Mean S. D.
Pretest 49.23 7.44 49.42 13.69
Posttest 49.07 6.45 47.06 13.28

To investigate the changes in students’ beliefs about each STEBI item, the percentages
of participants who agreed/strongly agreed with the STEBI items are reported in Table 2.
When reporting the percentages, the negative STEBI items are reworded as positive items and
their percentages for the disagree/strongly disagree options are reported. Table 2 indicates that
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 105

at least 70% of the participants felt confident in ten of the STEBI statements, but at the same
time, 43% of them still did not agree that they knew necessary steps to teach science
effectively (Item 3), and one-third of them did not feel confident enough to be effective in
monitoring science experiments (Item 4) at the end of the course. Also, about half of them
expressed their unwillingness to be observed by a supervisor (Item 10). Since this course is the
final science methods course in the program, based on the data, a significant portion of these
pre-service teachers are likely to complete the methods courses without a desired level of self-
efficacy. It is also equally disturbing that, compared to 76% agreement in item 2 of the pretest;
a smaller percentage of the participants (70%) agreed that they will teach science as well as
other subjects in the posttest.
Table 2.Percentages of Participants Who Agreed With STEBI Items

STEBI Items Pretest Posttest

(A/SA) (A/SA)
1. Will find better ways to teach science. 82% 91%
*
2. Will teach science as well as other subjects. 76% 70%
3. Knows the steps necessary to teach science effectively. 39% 57%
*
4. Will be effective in monitoring science experiments. 70% 67%
*
5. Will teach science effectively. 81% 80%
6. Understands science concepts well enough to be effective. 74% 77%
*
7. Will be able to explain why science experiments work. 65% 72%
8. Will be able to answer student questions 75% 80%
*
9. Will have necessary skills to teach science. 63% 70%
*
10. Willing to be observed by supervisor. 60% 53%
11. Will be able to help students understand science concepts. * 79% 82%
12. Will welcome student questions. 94% 95%
13. Knows what to do to turn students on to science. * 74% 77%
A: Agree, SA: Strongly Agree
*: Denotes the negative item rewritten in positive form.

Table 3. Pre- and Post-test PSTE and SANX Scores by Gender

Male Female
Mean S. D. Mean S. D.
Pre-
48.31 8.22 50.53 6.02
PSTE
Post-
48.36 7.41 50.09 4.67
PSTE
Pre-
49.95 15.28 48.72 11.40
SANX
Post-
48.07 13.64 45.72 12.81
SANX
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Table 3 summarizes the PSTE and SANX score comparisons of the participants by
gender. The mean scores from Table 3 indicate that Turkish female preservice elementary
teachers in this sample had higher PSTE and lower SANX scores than their male peers in both
the pretest and the posttest, but neither of the differences was statistically significantly at .05
alpha level.
To investigate the participants’ self-perceptions about their enjoyment in studying
science and pedagogical knowledge level to teach science, their responses to the questionnaire
are summarized in Table 4. As seen in Table 4, consistent with the STEBI percentages, one-
fourth of the sample indicated that they disliked studying science and one-third felt
incompetent about their pedagogical knowledge level. Also, consistent with the mean SANX
scores comparisons by gender; more males were found to dislike studying in science than the
females in this sample. Furthermore, consistent with the mean PSTE scores analysis by
gender, females tended to express more confidence in their pedagogical competence than the
males in the sample.

Table 4. Participants’ Self-Perceptions about Their Attitudes toward Science and

Pedagogical Knowledge Levels

Female Male Total

Attitude toward science*
Dislike/Very Much Dislike 20% 27% 25%
Enjoy/Very Much Enjoy 57% 52% 54%
Pedagogical knowledge level to teach science
Incompetent/Somewhat Incompetent 29% 36% 33%
Somewhat Competent/ Competent 71% 64% 67%
* The percentages for the neutral option are not reported.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The data from this study indicates that, although there has been a noticeable, but not
statistically significant, decline in participants’ science anxieties during the science methods
course, their PSTE scores did not increase as expected, but slightly decreased. These results
show that the science methods course investigated in this study helped participants somewhat
reduce their science anxieties that had been formed in previous science content courses;
however, the course did not have a similar positive impact on participants’ beliefs about their
personal science teaching skills. Another disturbing result of this study for the Turkish teacher
educators was finding that a significant number of Turkish pre-service elementary teachers in
this study lacked enjoyment in studying science and expressed their lack of pedagogical
knowledge to teach science, even after completing a science methods course.
Consistent with the few other studies conducted in Turkey (e.g. Gencer & Cakiroglu,
2007) and unlike the case in many countries (Brownlow et al., 2000; Riggs, 1991), gender
effect was not found a significant factor in Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’ science
anxiety or science teaching self-efficacy levels. Although the differences were not statistically
significant, quite contrary to the findings from other countries, Turkish female pre-service
elementary teacher were found to have slightly higher science teaching self-efficacy levels and
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 107

lower science anxieties than their male peers. These results indicate that further research is
needed to investigate the possible factors that positively impact Turkish pre-service female
elementary teachers compared to their male peers.
In light of the related literature, a major factor impacting pre-service teachers’ lack of
self-efficacy to teach science would be the format of the previous science content courses they
had taken and the science methods course investigated in this study. It is a common problem
reported in the literature that preservice teachers in all over the world develop anxieties toward
science in science content courses (Morrell & Carroll, 2003; Palmer, 2006; Stevens & Wenner
1996), which are usually taught by professors from natural science departments. Furthermore,
since changing beliefs requires time (Pajares, 1992), the limited student teaching experiences
of Turkish pre-service teachers do not provide enough opportunities to them for developing
strong science teaching self-efficacy beliefs. For these reasons, it is almost the case that
science methods courses are the only option left for Turkish teacher educators to help their
students overcome the negative attitudes toward science. A science methods course consisting
of science experiments, as in this study, is likely to help pre-service teachers reduce their
anxiety toward science, but this does not mean that pre-service teachers will improve their
self-efficacy beliefs through the same activities. From the classroom observations and
informal conversations, participants have considered the content of methods course easier than
the previous science courses, and therefore improved their attitudes toward science; however,
it can be concluded that a teacher-centered science methods course without actual student
teaching experiences is unlikely to enhance pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs to teach
science.
To be able to prepare more self-efficacious elementary teachers, Turkish teacher
educators should consider the factors that are reported in the literature as enhancing pre-
service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. For example, the use of hands-on science inquiry
activities (Bleicher, 2006; Cox & Carpenter, 1989; Mullholland & Wallace, 1996) and student
teaching experiences at elementary schools (Cantrell et al. 2003; Huinker & Madison, 1997;
Palmer, 2006) are likely to improve students’ attitudes toward science and science teaching.
Science experiments are strongly recommended not to emphasize the science content
knowledge, be appropriate to the elementary school level, and relate to everyday life (Cox &
Carpenter, 1989). Foremost, students should be having fun during these activities (Palmer,
2001).
Due to the nonrandom sampling method used in this study, the results may not be
generalizable to the whole Turkish pre-service elementary teachers population, but since
student teaching in elementary schools is not a part of the science methods courses in all
Turkish universities, the suggestions for the improvement of the science methods course
investigated in this study would certainly apply to most teacher education programs around the
country. Based on the findings from this study and the previous research, Turkish teacher
educators should consider enhancing the effectiveness of science methods courses by:

• Incorporating student teaching activities at elementary schools into science

methods courses.
• Employing more hands-on science inquiry activities – activities relevant to
everyday life and can be used directly in elementary classrooms – via student-
centered teaching methods.
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APPENDIX A

Validity Analysis for the Turkish Version of the STEBI-B PSTE Scale

PRETEST POSTTEST

STEBI Item Factor Loading STEBI Item Factor Loading

Item 9 ,738 Item 5 ,766

Item 7 ,737 Item 11 ,738

Item 11 ,730 Item 9 ,585

Item 2 ,711 Item 10 ,572

Item 10 ,671 Item 6 ,557

Item 5 ,662 Item 7 ,532

Item 4 ,657 Item 13 ,515

Item 8 ,641 Item 12 ,515

Item 3 ,623 Item 2 ,460

Item 13 ,550 Item 8 ,429

Item 6 ,522 Item 3 ,407

Item 12 ,440 Item 4 ,393

Item 1 ,275 Item 1 ,308

 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 111

APPENDIX B
Science Anxiety Survey
Some of the following activities may cause anxiety toward science and science learning.
Please select one of the boxes to indicate the level of anxiety you may or may not experience in each situation.

None Some Moderate Much Very

Much
1. Discussing scientific theories with my friends outside school

2. Explaining my ideas to people about a novel event in nature

3. Being asked to justify an everyday life decision by using

science
4. Helping an elementary student with his/her science project

5. Walking to a science class

6. Working on a project for my science class
7. Waiting for the result of a science exam
8. Reading science textbooks
9. Reporting scientific data from tables and charts in class
10. Doing a science experiment in lab
11. Presenting my findings from science experiments to the
teacher
12. Taking a science exam
13. Being asked to justify my answer in a science class
14. Asking questions about what I do not understand in a
science class
15. Thinking about an abstract scientific concept in class
16. Being asked by my teacher to explain a novel event
17. Using units in science classes
18. Using mathematical equations in science exams
19. Recalling the textbook definition of scientific laws
20. Being asked to explain scientific laws in my own words

Note: The Turkish version of the SANX survey can be requested from the author.
([email protected])
 Bursal / TÜFED-TUSED / 5(1) 2008 112

APPENDIX C

Science Anxiety (SANX) Survey Validity Analysis

PRETEST POSTTEST

SANX Item Factor Loading SANX Item Factor Loading

Item 13 ,787 Item 13 ,757

Item 11 ,739 Item 11 ,746

Item 20 ,681 Item 6 ,689

Item 9 ,679 Item 16 ,677

Item 16 ,663 Item 20 ,652

Item 15 ,645 Item 5 ,651

Item 6 ,637 Item 9 ,641

Item 12 ,636 Item 4 ,613

Item 10 ,629 Item 10 ,611

Item 8 ,614 Item 3 ,597

Item 17 ,609 Item 8 ,595

Item 3 ,593 Item 12 ,594

Item 5 ,588 Item 14 ,572

Item 7 ,569 Item 15 ,539

Item 18 ,540 Item 17 ,536

Item 14 ,540 Item 7 ,529

Item 19 ,484 Item 2 ,515

Item 4 ,463 Item 1 ,472

Item 2 ,394 Item 18 ,465

Item 1 ,329 Item 19 ,428