Student's Attitudes Toward School and Classroom Science: Are They Independent Phenomena?

The purpose of this study was to examine 5th, 7th, and 10th graders' attitudes toward school and classroom science by means of questionnaires. In particular, the study hoped to determine (a) what students' attitudes are, (b) whether a relationship exists between these school and classroom science attitudes, and (c) what relationships grade level, gender, ethnicity, school/community type, expected GPA and science grade, and personally satisfying GPA and science grade have with students' attitudes toward school and classroom science. The results indicated that, although a statistically significant relationship did exist between students' attitudes toward school and toward classroom science, the relationship had no practical meaning. Females were slightly more positive about school than males. No gender differences were found with respect to classroom attitudes. Fifth graders held significantly more positive attitudes toward science than upper‐grade students. None of the other variables was found to have any practical relationship to either of the attitudes.