مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - THE ADAPTATION STUDY OF THE ASTRONOMY ATTITUDE SCALE FOR THE HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS

Abstract :

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to find out the attitudes of university students towards astronomy and to find out the attitudes of pre-service science teachers towards astronomy. An Astronomy Attitude Scale (AAS) previously prepared for middle school students in literature was adapted to higher education with this study. Within this context, some of the items in the scale, which were not suitable for higher education, were taken out while some were revised. The draft, which was 5 likert type with 20 items, was implemented on 286 pre-service teachers during the 2014-2015 academic year and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the 18 items in the scale were grouped in 4 factors and Cronbach-Alpha internal consistency was found to be 0,898. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of AAS was conducted on 223 pre-service teachers during the 2015-2016 academic year. As a result of CFA, it was found that both each factor and the whole scale had high model-data fit. The scale which was formed as a result of EFA and CFA was conducted on 315 pre-service science teachers and attitudes towards astronomy were found. It was found that as the pre-service teachers’ years of study increased, their attitudes towards astronomy also increased. Especially the attitude scores of pre-service teachers in their fourth year of study were significantly different from those of other pre-service teachers. Based on the results of the study, suggestions were made to conduct studies which show the attitudes of individuals in astronomy education and even the changes in these attitudes together with the reasons.