The disparity between achievement and engagement in students' science learning: A case of East-Asian regions

Abstract

One of most striking features of East Asian students' science performance in international comparative studies (PISA and TIMSS) is that, despite their very high levels of performance, they consistently show the lowest levels of engagement with science. This is particularly clear in the case of Korean and Japanese students. It is believed that this is not just evident in science but a general trend across school subjects and that this phenomenon is deeply rooted in commonly shared traditions and cultures of countries in the East Asian region. This chapter will begin by summarising data from recent TIMSS and PISA studies in order to illustrate this disparity. Then I will draw on research from a number of sources to interpret and understand this important phenomenon. This will include research from both beyond science education (cognitive psychology, other curriculum areas) and from within science education (a recent comparative study on Science Culture Indicators by the East-Asian Association for Science Education, recent studies by me and by my research students on dichotomous attitudes towards science/science learning and on students' perceived fatigues towards school science learning and science museum learning). In concluding remarks, I will raise the issues of widening the scope of school assessment, including not only performances in knowledge, concepts and practical work but also in attitudes, images and engagement. This is important regardless of what kind of view of assessment (as/of/for learning) we have.