Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine students' attitudes toward learning science in three "low performing" secondary schools in Penang, Malaysia. 214 students from these schools were involved in completing a questionnaire containing items consisting of six constructs. Data collected were analyzed using Rasch modeling. Students in low performing schools tended to have less positive self-concept of science and were unlikely to experience that learning science were related to their future careers. However, students believed that science is useful for society, and experienced that learning science was interesting. Implications for science educators based on these results are discussed.

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