Examining of secondary school students' integrated science process skills

Abstract

Integrated science process skills (ISPS) are a fundamental variable in scientific inquiry and scientific literacy. If students are proficient in this skill, they will be ready for living and working in the 21st-century, which requires the application of scientific knowledge and scientific inquiry. For these reasons, the researchers undertook a study to investigate the ISPS of Thai lower secondary school students. From the use of stratified random sampling, 350 Bangkok, Thailand Grade 8 secondary school students were selected. The SPSS statistics software was used for data analysis of the mean and standard deviation. A first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also employed. Findings from the research determined that student ISPS consisted of five indicators, including 1) controlling variables 2) hypotheses formulation 3) defining variables operationally 4) experimentation, and 5) data interpretation. Findings also revealed that overall, student ISPS were at a level that needed improvement.