The effects of task contexts on pupils’ performance in science process skills

Abstract

This study examined the interaction effect between two of the scientific process skills (interpretation and application) assessed by the UK national science monitoring (APU) in two task contexts (scientific and everyday). Two hundred and twenty‐eight pupils in Seoul, Korea, of both sexes and in two age groups (13 and 15), were given altogether 14 pairs of paper‐and‐pencil type questions, seven on interpretation skills and seven on application skills. Special attention was paid to ensuring that two questions within each pair had the same cognitive demand except in respect of context. Results revealed that there was an apparent interaction between process skills and contexts. Pupils’ achievements of the interpretation skills were significantly higher in everyday contexts than in scientific contexts, whereas in application skills they were significantly higher in scientific contexts. Some other effects, like sex‐‐skill interaction, and age‐skill‐context interaction, were also found.