Rural Turkish Students’ Reactions to Learning Science in a Mobile Laboratory

• Published in: Educational sciences : theory & practice Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 261 - 277
• Main Authors: Erol, Mustafa, Buyuk, Ugur, Onal, Nagihan Tanik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Istanbul Codon Publications 01.02.2016; EDAM (Educational Consultancy Ltd.); Educational Consultancy, Ltd (EDAM)
• Subjects: Educational Quality; Educational Resources; Eğitim Bilimleri; Foreign Countries; Kişisel Gelişim; Likert Scales; Middle School Students; Mixed Methods Research; Outreach Programs; Rural Areas; Rural Schools; Rural Youth; Science Achievement; Science Activities; Science Curriculum; Science Education; Science Experiments; Science Interests; Science Laboratories; Science Process Skills; Scientific Literacy; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Student Surveys; Teaching Methods; Turkey; İstanbul; Türkiye; Turkey; Rural; Experiment-based; Turkey; Mobile science laboratory; Middle school
• DOI: 10.12738/estp.2016.1.0171
• ISSN: 2148-7561; 1303-0485

The inadequacy of experimental activities (or lack of equipment) in science courses in rural parts of Turkey negatively effects students’ acquisition of scientific thinking and inquiry skills. The fact that success rates are notably low in international assessments demonstrates the necessity to adopt “different” approaches apart from the existing learning and teaching methods. From this point of view, a mobile science laboratory (MSL) was constructed to deliver outreach activities in the rural outskirts of a city in Turkey. Experimental activities were carried out in this laboratory for six months with 324 middle school students who responded to survey questions. The research was designed with multimethod: A combination of quantitative and qualitative data-collection strategies was used. The first part has 25 five-point closed-ended Likert-scale items, and the second part has two open-ended questions. The results of the study show that the students in the rural areas were pleased with the activities; they enjoyed learning science in the MSL, and their interest and curiosity for science contents increased. It will be suggested that the MSLs should be used in order to support the science literacy of students in the rural areas of Turkey.