A Study on the Factors Affecting Biological Concept Learning of Junior High School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how factors such as personal traits and school locations influence junior high school students’ conceptual learning of biology. The study was carried out island‐wide with the whole area divided into 10 districts, from which 4,537 students were selected using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire on biological concepts was used to gather the data, which then were statistically analysed using one‐way analysis of variance and a t‐test. It was found that junior high school students in urban areas had clearer and better biological concepts than those of students in eastern Taiwan and other distant districts. Students in the ninth grade performed better than those in the eighth grade. No significant difference was observed in terms of gender. Besides, students who had more positive biology self‐efficacy, who watched science‐oriented television programmes, and who had stronger motivation and more positive attitudes towards biology learning all scored higher for their biological concepts. On the basis of the findings of the study, the authors make several suggestions for improving biology education.

Keywords:

• Biological concept
• Self‐efficacy
• Motivation
• Biology learning

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by grants from the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC91‐2522‐S‐017‐024 and NSC92‐2522‐S‐017‐009).