Learning context and achievement in physics

Abstract

The paper presents partial findings of an extensive international project aimed at studying the trends in achievement of primary school students in the fields of mathematics and natural sciences. In Serbia, the research was carried out in May, 2003 and included 149 primary schools. The participants were 4.296 eighth grade students, 879 teachers and 149 principals. The basic question was: how is physics taught in our primary schools? Generally speaking, the results indicate that our students are not trained well enough to: a) connect knowledge from related fields, b) connect concepts into systems, c) apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations, or when solving new problems. Such low performance of our students in the stated domains is attributed to professional characteristics of their teachers, personal resources of the students, and the context in which the knowledge is acquired.

U radu su izloženi nalazi koji predstavljaju deo obimnog međunarodnog projekta proučavanja obrazovnog postignuća učenika osnovnih škola u oblasti matematike i prirodnih nauka. Istraživanje je sprovedeno tokom maja 2003. godine na uzorku od 149 osnovnih škola u Srbiji. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 4.296 učenika osmog razreda, 879 nastavnika i 149 direktora škola. Osnovno pitanje koje se u radu postavlja jeste: kakvi su uslovi realizacije nastave fizike u našim osnovnim školama? U celini gledano, nalazi ukazuju na to da naši učenici nisu dovoljno osposobljeni da: (a) povezuju znanja iz srodnih oblasti, (b)povezuju pojmove u sisteme, (v) primenjuju teorijska znanja u praktičnim situacijama i u rešavanju novih problema. Nizak nivo znanja naših učenika u navedenim domenima dovodi se u vezu sa profesionalnim karakteristikama nastavnika, ličnim resursima učenika i kontekstom u kojem se znanja stiču.