Practical independent research projects (IRPs) are a feature of school science in a number of countries. To assess the impact of IRPs on students, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken. Thirty-nine papers met the review inclusion criteria, reporting on work from twelve countries. The review indicates that IRPs are often associated…

This study explores whether the religious background of students affects their opinions about and attitudes to engaging with scientific explanations of the origins of the universe and of life. The study took place in four English secondary schools representing three different contexts (Christian faith-based; non-faith with majority Muslim…

This paper presents the findings of the qualitative component of a combined methods research study that explores a range of individual and school factors that influence the uptake of chemistry and physics in post-compulsory study in England. The first phase involves using the National Pupil Database to provide a sampling frame to identify four…

The purpose of this analysis is to describe the variation in students' reports of engagement in science across science teaching and learning activities. In addition, this study examines student and school characteristics that may be associated with students' levels of engagement in science. Data are drawn from the Programme for International…

This paper reports the findings of two systematic reviews of the use and effects of small group discussions in high school science teaching. Ninety-four studies were included in an overview (systematic map) of work in the area, and 24 studies formed the basis of the in-depth reviews. The reviews indicate that there is considerable diversity in the…

The present paper describes a four-year project involving the development of a new instrument, the "Attitudes to School Science and Science" instrument, and its use to collect baseline attitudinal data from 280 students aged 11, 14, and 16 years. A key feature of the instrument is that it collects both descriptive and explanatory data in…

This paper presents two South African case studies designed to explore the influence of subject matter knowledge on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In the first case study on teaching the mole in two township schools, the findings illustrate that the participant teachers favoured procedural approaches at the expense of conceptual…

This paper describes briefly the development and key features of one of the major context-based courses for upper high school students, Salters Advanced Chemistry. It goes on to consider the research evidence on the impact of the course, focusing on teachers' views, and, in particular, on students' affective and cognitive responses. The research…

This paper explores the role of systematic reviews of research literature and considers what they have to offer research in science education. The origins of systematic reviews are described, together with the reasons why they are currently attracting considerable attention in the research literature. An overview is presented of the key features…

The study explores teachers' experiences of teaching a context-based chemistry course, "Salters Advanced Chemistry", as compared with teachers of a conventional course. Second, main factors that appear to influence decisions over whether or not to adopt context-based courses are investigated. Two hundred and twenty-two teachers' views of a…

Reports on a research study into the assessment of practical work at the upper high school level in Ireland which involved the use of a visiting examiner. Indicates that the new model provided a reliable and valid assessment of a range of practical abilities. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/ASK)