Gender differences in students’ attitudes toward science: An analysis of students’ science process skill using testlet instrument

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to analyze gender differences in students’ attitudes toward science and to investigate how they are varied by science process skill indicators. Three schools with different levels of achievement consisting of 109 male students and 117 female students were examined using Testlet Instrument. Testlet instrument consisted of 30 multiple choice questions that had been validated and arranged into science process skill indicators in chemistry subject to determine whether there were existing gender differences or not. The science process skills indicators that were analyzed included conceptual knowledge, observation, controlling variable, interpreting data and making conclusions. Overall, male and female students result similar attitude toward science process skill indicators. However, male students show better results than female students especially on the indicators of observation, controlling variable and making conclusion. On the other hand, female students are better on conceptual knowledge and interpreting data. Furthermore, the percentage of science process skill owned by male students with moderate and high category is higher than female students.