Difficulties in Resolving Science Problems: a comparative study of English and Spanish pupils’ opinions

Abstract

Very few international studies in science education have, in recent years, set out with the intention of making direct comparisons using specially designed instruments. Most work is at the descriptive level with comparison being invited of the reader. This study seeks to remedy this and to build upon a previous parallel study comparing the views of teachers, from Spain and England, of problem‐solving by examining pupils’ opinions of problems and the difficulties they encounter when trying to solve them. A specially designed instrument was used and given to a sample of students from Spain and England. These preliminary findings suggest that Spanish pupils tend to place their failures on an external locus, while English pupils place their failure more internally and blame themselves for their failures. There are also indications that teacher behaviour and school curricula might have an effect on the findings.