Students’ conceptual understanding, self-efficacy and scientific creativity in science learning: A multivariate analysis

Albert Andry E. Panergayo

Volume 4 Issue 4, December 2023

Abstract

This paper examined the conceptual understanding, self-efficacy, and scientific creativity of the students in Physics. The study further investigated the significant difference observed in the study variables according to sex and grade level using multivariate analysis. Using descriptive model of research design, the 125 Senior High School (SHS) students were asked to fill out the Physics Conceptual Understanding (PCU) test, Science Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (SLSE), and Scientific Creativity (SC) test. After the score were tallied and organized, two-way MANOVA was administered to determine the difference in the outcome variables when grouped according to sex and grade level. Based on Pillai’s Trace as revealed, there was a statistically significant difference in independent variables based on grade level. The analysis further revealed that PCU (𝑝=0.675) and SLSE (𝑝=0.101) are unaffected, while SC (𝑝=0.010) is influenced by the grade level. This study uncovered that there is no sex difference observed, while statistical variation exists in terms of grade level specifically to SC. This concludes that PCU, SLES, and SC is not affected by their sex identity but are associated on their academic level. Implications for practice into classroom are discussed and further suggestions of future research are provided.

Keywords

Author information & Contribution

Disclosure statement

Funding

Institutional Review Board Statement

AI Declaration

Notes

Acknowledgement

References

Al-Balushi, S. M., Mansour, N., Almehrizi, R. S., Ambusaidi, A., & Al-Harthy, I. S. (2022). The association between the gender gap in science achievement and students’ perceptions of their own attitudes and capabilities. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(11), em2184. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/12559

Aruan, S. A., Okere, M. I. O, & Wachanga, S. (2016). Influence of Culture and Gender on Secondary School Students’ Scientific Creativity in Biology Education in Turkana County, Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(35), 25-35.

Aurah, C. (2017). Investigating the relationship between science self-efficacy beliefs, gender, and academic achievement, among high school in Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 8(8), 146-153.

Baji, M. I. (2020). Analysis of gender difference in academic self-efficacy and achievements among senior secondary school students in Niger state, Nigeria. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 5(3), 659–675. https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2020.53.659675

Bates, S., Donnelly, R., MacPhee, C. E., Sands, D., Birch, M., & Walet, N. R. (2013). Gender differences in conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics: a UK cross-institution comparison. European Journal of Physics, 34(2), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/34/2/421

Cahyanto, M. N., Ashadi, A., & Saputro, S. (2019). An Analysis of Gender Difference on Students’ Misconceptions in Learning the Material Classification and Its Changes. Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA. https://doi.org/10.21831/jipi.v5i2.26613

Charlesworth, T. E. S., & Banaji, M. R. (2019). Gender in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Issues, Causes, Solutions. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 39(37), 7228–7243. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0475-18.2019

Cimpian, J.R., Kim, T.H. & Mcdermott, Z.T. (2020). Understanding persistent gender gaps in STEM. Science, 368,1317-1319(2020).DOI:10.1126/science.aba7377

Deming, D., & Noray, K. (2019). STEM Careers and the Changing Skill Requirements of Work). HKS Working Paper No. RWP19-025. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3451346

Dullock, H. L. (1993). Research Design: Descriptive Research. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 10(4), 154–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/104345429301000406

Duruk, U. (2020). Investigating students’ scientific creativity and metacognitive awareness level according to RIASEC interest inventory. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(5), 1-20. https://doi.org/0.5281/zenodo.3831123

Eddy, S. L., Brownell, S. E., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Gender gaps in achievement and participation in multiple introductory biology classrooms. CBE- Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 478–492. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-10-0204

Evans, R. (2014). Self-Efficacy in Learning Science. Encyclopedia of Science Education, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6165-0_421-2

Fadllan, A., H., S., & Saptono, S. (2018). Scientific Creativity Profile of Mathematics and Science Students. Proceedings of the International Conference on Science and Education and Technology 2018 (ISET 2018). https://doi.org/10.2991/iset-18.2018.11

Fadllan, A., Susilo, H., & Saptono, S. (2022). A Biology Students’ Scientific Creativity Based on Gender Differences in The Introductory Physics Learning. International Journal of Education and Research, 10(8), 17-30.

Frandsen, T.F., Jacobsen, R.H. & Ousager, J. (2020). Gender gaps in scientific performance: a longitudinal matching study of health sciences researchers. Scientometrics 124, 1511–1527 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03528-z

Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2007). Educational Research: AN introduction (8^th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Guilford, J. P. (1956). The Structure of Intellect. Psychological Bulletin, 53, pp. 267-293.

Gupta, N. (2019). Analysing gender gap in science: Government of India initiatives. Current Science, 116(11), 1797–1804. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27138129

Honicke, T., & Broadbent, J. (2016). The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 17, 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.11.002

Hu, W., & Adey, P. (2002). A scientific creativity test for secondary school students. International Journal of Science Education, 24(4), 389–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690110098912

Huang, J., Gates, A.J. & Sinatra, R. (2020). Historical comparison of gender inequality in scientific careers across countries and disciplines. PNAS, 117 (9) 4609-4616. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914221117

Jia, C., Yang, T., Qian, Y., & Wu, X. (2020). The gender differences in science achievement, interest, habit, and creativity: A national representative evidence from China. Science Education International, 31(2), 195–202. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v31.i2.9

Kang, N. & Howren, C. (2004). Teaching for conceptual understanding. Science and Children. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ722110

Karwowski, M., Gralewski, J., & Szumski, G. (2015). Teachers’ effect on students’ creative self-beliefs is moderated by students’ gender. Learning Individual Differences, 44, 1–8.

Kassaw, K. & Astatke, M. (2017). Gender, academic self-efficacy, and goal orientation as predictors of academic achievement. Global Journal of Human-Social Sceince: A Arts and Humanities – Psychology, 17, 55-65.

Kaufman, J. C. (2006). Self-reported differences in creativity by ethnicity and gender. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(1), 1065–1082.

Kiran, G.L., Lee, A.M., Lukas, D., Dugdale, H,L. & Culina, A. (2023) Meta-Research: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gender gap in research productivity within academia eLife 12:e85427

Lin, T. J., & Tsai, C. C. (2013). A multi-dimensional instrument for evaluating Taiwanese high school students’ science learning self-efficacy in relation to their approaches to learning science. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11(6), 1275-1301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-012-9376-6

Lin, T.-J., Liang, J.-C., & Tsai, C.-C. (2014). Identifying Taiwanese University Students’ Physics Learning Profiles and Their Role in Physics Learning Self-Efficacy. Research in Science Education, 45(4), 605–624. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-014-9440-z

Makarova, E., Aeschlimann, B., & Herzog, W. (2019). The gender Gap in STEM fields: The impact of the gender stereotype of math and science on secondary students’ career aspirations. Frontiers in Education, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00060

Marescotti, M., Loreto, F. & Spires-Jones, T.L. (2022). Gender representation in science publication: evidence from Brain Communications, Brain Communications, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2022, fcac077, https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcac077

Meinck, S. & Brese, F. (2019). Trends in gender gaps: using 20 years of evidence from TIMSS. Large-scale Assess Educ 7, 8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-019-0076-3

Nieminen, P., Savinainen, A., & Viiri, J. (2013). Gender differences in learning of the concept of force, representational consistency, and scientific reasoning. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-012-9363-y

Nygaard, L.P., Aksnes, D.W. & Piro, F.N. (2022). Identifying gender disparities in research performance: the importance of comparing apples with apples. High Educ 84, 1127–1142 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00820-0

OECD (2012). Closing the gender gap. (2012). In OECD eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264179370-en

Panergayo, A. A. E., Gregana, C. F., & Panoy, J. F. D. (2021). Investigating the Factors Affecting the Teaching Efficacy of Filipino Science Teachers: A Correlational Study. Jurnal Pendidikan Progresif, 12 (1), 33-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.23960/jpp.v12.i1.202203

Reinking, A., & Martin, B. (2018). The Gender Gap in STEM Fields: Theories, Movements, and Ideas to Engage Girls in STEM. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(2), 148-153. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7821/naer.2018.7.271

Sá, C., Cowley, S., Martinez, M., Kachynska, N., Sabzalieva, E. (2020). Gender gaps in research productivity and recognition among elite scientists in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa. PLoS ONE 15(10): e0240903. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240903

Sagala, R., Umam, R., Thahir, A., Saregar, A., & Wardani, İ. (2019). The Effectiveness of STEM-Based on Gender Differences: The Impact of Physics Concept Understanding. European Journal of Educational Research, 8(3), 753–761. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.8.3.753

Scwab, K., & Zahidi, S. (2020). The Future of Jobs Report 2020. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/

Sen, C., Ay, Z. S., & Kiray, S. A. (2018). STEM Skills in 21^st Century Education. Research Highlights in STEM Education, 81-101.

Sezgintürk, M., & Sungur, S. (2020). A Multidimensional Investigation of Students’ Science Self-Efficacy: The Role of Gender. İlköğretim Online, 208–218. https://doi.org/10.17051/ilkonline.2020.653660

Siekmann, G. & Korbel, P. (2016). Defining STEM skills: a literature review and synthesis, NCVER, Adelaide.

UNESCO (2019). Exploring STEM competences for the 21st century. In UNESCO Library. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000368485

Whiting, S. W. (2020). These are the top 10 job skills of tomorrow – and how long it takes to learn them. World Economic Forum. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/top-10-work-skills-of-tomorrow-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-them/

Widiyatmoko, A., & Shimizu, K. (2018). An overview of conceptual understanding in science education curriculum in Indonesia. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 983, 012044. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/983/1/012044

World Economic Forum. (2017). Global Gender Gap Report 2017: Insight Report. https://shorturl.at/rzAV0

Cite this article:

Panergayo, A.E. (2023). Students’ conceptual understanding, self-efficacy and scientific creativity in science learning: A multivariate analysis. International Journal of Educational Management and Development Studies, 4 (4), 139-159. https://doi.org/10.53378/353027