Date of Award
12-1977
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Dr. James A. Davenport
Second Advisor
Dr. Carol F. Sheffer
Third Advisor
Dr. Eston J. Asher
Abstract
The purposes of this study were to: (1) Identify and explore the non-science majors' attitudes toward science; (2) Use the results of the investigation to design a course to be used by instructors of Earth and Space Science.
Two major instruments were developed to collect data for the study. The first was an Attitude Inventory and the second was a Course Content Inventory. A major goal of the Attitude Inventory was to collect data with which to develop an Attitude Index which could be used to predict those non-science majors who have some "negative" attitudes toward science. The course design would then be focused on the modification of these "negative" attitudes to positive attitudes toward science.
The results of the study permitted the following conclusions: (1) The Attitude Index which was developed showed no significant difference between those students classified as having "negative" attitudes and the total sample on the variables age, sex, race, and previous science background; (2) There was a significant difference between these groups indicating that students with "negative" attitudes do delay taking their science requirement; (3) The non-science majors' "negative" attitudes appear to be a reluctance to take science courses because of the students' concerns about the difficulty of these courses.
A course was designed in the area of Earth and Space Science which had as its major objective the reduction of the concerns of these students toward the difficulty of science.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Fairbanks, Larry J., "A Study of the Attitudes of the Non-Science Major toward Science and Its Importance in Curriculum Design" (1977). Dissertations. 2718.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/2718