Science Epistemological Beliefs from the Perspective of Culture and Gender in Co-Educational Secondary Schools, Kenya - Creative Education

CE > Vol.11 No.7, July 2020

Science Epistemological Beliefs from the Perspective of Culture and Gender in Co-Educational Secondary Schools, Kenya ()

HTML XML

Download as PDF (Size: 314KB) PP. 1162-1178

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2020.117087 387 Downloads 1,824 Views

Author(s)

Richard Owino Ongowo

Affiliation(s)

Department of Curriculum Instruction and Media, Rongo University, Kitere Hills, Kenya.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of culture and gender on the development of science epistemological beliefs among co-educational secondary schools in Kisii and Homa-bay counties in Kenya. The study employed a causal comparative design with purposive sampling technique. A 26-item questionnaire called Science Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (SEBQ) developed by Conley et al. (2004) was used. The instrument assesses four dimensions of Epistemological Beliefs as Source, Certainty, Development and Justification of scientific knowledge. It was administered to 410 students (Kisii-Abagusii, n = 207; Homabay-Luo, n= 203). The data were analyzed by culture and gender using independent sample t-tests. The findings indicate statistically significant cultural differences in favor of the Abagusii students for three dimensions (Source, Certainty and Development) and statistically significant difference in favor of the Luo students for the dimension of Justification. The findings also indicate non-significant gender differences for the dimensions Source, Certainty and Justification. On the other hand there were statistically significant gender differences in favor of the boys for the dimension of development. Discussions, conclusions and implications are herein made.

KEYWORDS

Science Epistemological Beliefs, Ethnicity, Gender, Co-Educational Secondary Schools

Share and Cite:

Ongowo, R. (2020) Science Epistemological Beliefs from the Perspective of Culture and Gender in Co-Educational Secondary Schools, Kenya. Creative Education, 11, 1162-1178. doi: 10.4236/ce.2020.117087.

Journals Menu

Follow SCIRP

	+1 323-425-8868
	customer@scirp.org
	+86 18163351462(WhatsApp)
	1655362766

	Paper Publishing WeChat

Journals Menu

Home

About SCIRP

Service

Policies