The relationship between students' views of the nature of science and their views of the nature of scientific measurement

The present study explores the relationship between students’ views on the nature of science (NOS) and their views of the nature of scientific measurement. A questionnaire with two-tier diagnostic multiple choice items on both the NOS and measurement was administered to 179 first year physics students with diverse school experiences. Students’ views on the NOS were classified into four ‘NOS profiles’ and views on measurement were classified according to either the point or set paradigms. The findings show that students with a NOS profile which is dominated by a belief that the laws of nature are to be discovered by scientists, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement characterised by a belief in ‘true’ values. On the other hand, students who believe that scientific theories are inventions of scientists, constructed from observations which are then validated through further experimentation, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement which is underpinned by the uncertain nature of scientific evidence. The implications for teaching scientific measurement at tertiary level are discussed

Minority ethnic students and science participation: a qualitative mapping of achievement, aspiration, interest and capital

In the UK, the ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor has been used to describe the relationship between ethnicity and science participation. Fewer minority ethnic students continue with science in post-compulsory education, and little is known about the ways in which they participate and identify with science, particularly in the secondary school context. Drawing on an exploratory study of 46 interviews and 22 h of classroom observations with British students (aged 11–14) from Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and Chinese ethnic backgrounds, this paper identified five ‘types’ of science participation among minority ethnic students. The five types of science participation emerged from an analysis of students’ science achievement, science aspiration, science interest and science capital. The characteristics of the five types are as follows: Science adverse students have no aspirations towards science and lacked interest, achievement and capital in science. Science intrinsic students have high science aspirations, interest and capital but low science attainment. Students who are science intermediate have some aspirations, interest and capital in science, with average science grades. Science extrinsic students achieve highly in science, have some science capital but lacked science aspirations and/or interest. Science prominent students are high science achievers with science aspirations, high levels of interest and capital in science. The findings highlight that minority ethnic students participate in science in diverse ways. Policy implications are suggested for each type as this paper provides empirical evidence to counter against public (and even some academic) discourses of minority ethnic students as a homogeneous group

Definitions for hydration changes of hydrogel lenses

Authors of studies on the hydration characteristics of hydrogel lenses have used a variety of definitions to describe the changes observed with exposure of the lenses to different environments. This has resulted in difficulties in the interpretation of published data. In particular, the single term "percentage dehydration" has been used to denote different mathematical expressions for alterations to the lens composition. A detailed theoretical analysis of hydrogel hydration levels is presented to examine definitions for lens hydration changes, compare results obtained under different definitions and propose appropriate usage for the alternative definitions according to the aspect of lens performance under consideration. The interrelationships between the commonly used definitions of dehydration are shown to be independent of initial lens mass but dependent on initial water content. Typically, higher water content lenses undergo considerably larger mass changes than lower water content lenses, an effect that may be masked if these changes are presented as changes of water content. There are a number of clinical consequences of lens dehydration, the importance of which will vary depending on the initial lens water content. It is therefore essential when comparing different water content lenses on the basis of the extent of dehydration to do so with respect to a specific clinical consequence rather than in general terms