Contents: Educational Aspirations and Scientific Attitudes: The Problem and Its Significance, Related Research, Research Procedure, Analysis of Data, Conclusions, Discussions and Suggestions.

The research into how students’ attitudes affect their learning of science related subjects has been one of the core areas of interest by science educators. The development in science education records various attempts in measuring attitudes and determining the correlations between behavior, achievements, career aspirations, gender identity and cultural inclination. Some researchers noted that attitudes can be learned and teachers can encourage students to like science subjects through persuasion. But some view that attitude is situated in context and has much to do with upbringing and environment. The critical role of attitude is well recognized in advancing science education, in particular designing curriculum and choosing powerful pedagogies and nurturing students. Since Noll’s (1935) seminal work on measuring the scientific attitudes, a steady stream of research papers describing the development and validation of scales have appeared in scholarly publications. Despite these efforts, the progress in this area has been stagnated by limited understanding of the conception of attitude, dimensionality and inability to determine the multitude of variables that made up such concept. This book makes an attempt to take stock and critically examine classical views on science attitudes and explore contemporary attempts in measuring science-related attitudes. The chapters in this book are a reflection of researchers who work tirelessly in promoting science education and highlight the current trends and future scenarios in attitude measurement.

This edited collection uses democratic forums to study what people want from the welfare state in five European countries. The forum method yields new insights into how people frame social issues, their priorities and acceptable solutions. This is the first time democratic forums have been used as a research tool in this field. The contributors’ research show that most people recognize growing inequality, population ageing, paying for health care and pensions, social care and immigration as areas where the welfare state faces real challenges. The most striking findings are the high level of support across all countries for social investment, and the way justifications for this vary between welfare state regimes. The authors also explore key areas such as immigration and intergenerational differences. Attitudes, Aspirations and Welfare will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including politics, social policy and sociology, as well as policy-makers.

Biology is where many of science's most exciting and relevant advances are taking place. Yet, many students leave school without having learned basic biology principles, and few are excited enough to continue in the sciences. Why is biology education failing? How can reform be accomplished? This book presents information and expert views from curriculum developers, teachers, and others, offering suggestions about major issues in biology education: what should we teach in biology and how should it be taught? How can we measure results? How should teachers be educated and certified? What obstacles are blocking reform?

This research study gives in detail the theoretical perspectives and research results concerned to scientific attitude, scientific aptitude and achievement in biology. This report will help the researchers to probe into the unsorted areas, the planners to frame feasible policies, the authors to develop suitable books, the teachers to provide appropriate learning experiences, and the students to enhance the traits to the expected levels.

Recruiting an all-volunteer military is a formidable task. To successfully enlist one eligible recruit, the Army must contact approximately 120 young people. The National Research Council explores the various factors that will determine whether the military can realistically expect to recruit an adequate fighting force-one that will meet its upcoming needs. It also assesses the military's expected manpower needs and projects the numbers of youth who are likely to be available over the next 20 years to meet these needs. With clearly written text and useful graphics, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth offers an overview of important issues for military recruiters, touching on a number of important topics including: sex and race, education and aptitude, physical and moral attributes, and military life and working conditions. In addition, the book looks at how a potential recruit would approach the decision to enlist, considering personal, family, and social values, and the options for other employment or college. Building on the need to increase young Americans' "propensity to enlist," this book offers useful recommendations for increasing educational opportunities while in the service and for developing advertising strategies that include concepts of patriotism and duty to country. Of primary value to military policymakers, recruitment officers, and analysts, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth will also interest social scientists and policy makers interested in youth trends.

The International Handbook of Science Education is a two volume edition pertaining to the most significant issues in science education. It is a follow-up to the first Handbook, published in 1998, which is seen as the most authoritative resource ever produced in science education. The chapters in this edition are reviews of research in science education and retain the strong international flavor of the project. It covers the diverse theories and methods that have been a foundation for science education and continue to characterize this field. Each section contains a lead chapter that provides an overview and synthesis of the field and related chapters that provide a narrower focus on research and current thinking on the key issues in that field. Leading researchers from around the world have participated as authors and consultants to produce a resource that is comprehensive, detailed and up to date. The chapters provide the most recent and advanced thinking in science education making the Handbook again the most authoritative resource in science education.