THE IMPACT OF SCIENTIFIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS OF SRI LANKAN SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS ON THEIR APPROACHES TO LEARNING SCIENCE - A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELLING ANALYSIS

Oct 15, 2026

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The study examines how Sri Lankan senior secondary students’ scientific epistemological beliefs relate to their approaches to learning science. Data from 415 students in Sri Lanka’s western province were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that more sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs significantly predict deep learning approaches, while less sophisticated beliefs predict surface approaches. Findings inform science learning, teaching processes, and curriculum reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

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ABSTRACT

1. INTRODUCTION

Asian Journal of Contemporary Education ISSN(e):2617-1252 DOI: 10.18488/journal.137.2018.22.60.69 Vol. 2, No. 2, 60-69 © 2018 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved. [URL:](URL: www.aessweb.com)[ ](URL: www.aessweb.com)[www.aessweb.com](URL: www.aessweb.com) THE IMPACT OF SCIENTIFIC EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS OF SRI LANKAN SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS ON THEIR APPROACHES TO LEARNING SCIENCE: A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELLING ANALYSIS Lasanthi Prasadini1+ Junainah Abd. Hamid2 Ali Khatibi3 S. M. Ferdous Azam4 1 Graduate School of Management, Management and Science University Malaysia 2,3,4 Graduate School of Management, Management and Science University Malaysia (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 4 May 2018 Revised: 30 May 2018 Accepted: 20 June 2018 Published: 6 July 2018 Keywords Science education Learning approaches Scientific epistemological beliefs Secondary school Student achievement. In recent years, there has been a growing interest among researchers on students‘epistemological beliefs and learning approaches which are considered as important predictors of academic achievement. The aim of present study was to ascertain the relationship between Sri lankan senior secondary students‘ scientific epistemological beliefs and approaches to learning science. The sample included 415 students from western province of Sri Lanka. The partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to ascertain the relationships. The results revealed that sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs of senior secondary students predict their deep learning approaches while less sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs predict the surface approaches. The findings provide important implications for science learning – teaching process and curriculum reforms. 1. INTRODUCTION Science education is essential for the betterment and development of every country. Science as a subject provides an essential component of core knowledge that every member of our society requires and it develops individual‘s abilities, creativity, curiosity, problem solving and abilities for facing challenges. It is commonly believed that science education should be effective and relevant for a large diverse group of the population. It can be achieved by modifying how students think, understand and apply the knowledge of science appropriately (Weiman, 2005) . The Science as a subject in school system particularly at secondary level is very important for students of the 21st century as it is considered as the gateway to the opportunities and benefits of economic and social development and it is further considered as the ―keystone of education system‖(Iftekhar, 2013) . However, in general, the low academic performance of students for the subject science is considered as a vital issue in many countries specially in economically developing countries including Sri Lanka (ICSU, 2011) . At the senior secondary level the subject ‗Science‘ is considered as a core subject in which biology, physics and chemistry are integrated. It is reported that, Sri Lankan secondary student achievement rate for the subject Science at the G.C.E (General Certificate of Education) Ordinary Level (O/L) examination is considerably low (Department of Examination, 2016) . It is alarming to comprehend that, still nearly 30% of students who sits for this examination is not able to obtain a mere simple pass. In addition, amongst the students who pass the examination, only a small percentage obtains the higher grades (DoE, 2016) . Moreover, this situation is further confirmed by poor rank of Sri Lanka in terms of science education. Hence, these students are lack of required scientific skills in applying their knowledge into practice (World Bank, 2014) . Numerous studies have been conducted in many countries to empirically ascertain the reasons for the low level of achievements in science. It has been revealed tha

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study on Sri Lankan senior secondary students?

To determine the relationship between students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their approaches to learning science.

How many students participated, and what method was used?

The sample included 415 students from Sri Lanka’s western province, analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

What did the results show about belief sophistication and learning approaches?

Sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs predicted deep learning approaches, while less sophisticated beliefs predicted surface approaches.

Oct 15, 2026

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