A comparative study of attitudes to the aims of practical work in science education in Egypt, Korea and the UK

Abstract

This paper reports a comparative study of attitudes to the aims of practical work given by science teachers from Egypt, Korea and the UK. The ratings of aims given by specific groups of teachers can be used to characterize those groups. The characterizations can be interpreted from knowledge of the conditions in which teachers work. The choice of aims reflects pedagogic practice. The UK teachers have attitudes to aims for practical that reflect current concerns in the UK for investigations. The Korean teachers show a positivistic attitude to science and aims for practical which can be traced back to the emphasis on factual recall and illustrative practicals. The Egyptian teachers show concerns in their choice of aims for practical work which can be traced back to the lack of practical work in current Egyptian science education. All three groups express a common attitude to the aims of practical work that reflect an acknowledgement of the methods by which scientists make new knowledge. It is conjectured that the differences between the groups of teachers might be best understood using an evolutionary approach to the fit of teachers' ideas to their conditions of work.