Saudi Arabian secondary school students’ views of the nature of science and epistemological beliefs: gendered differences

ABSTRACT Background Understanding students’ views of the nature of science (NOS) has become one of the most discussed topics of science education in Saudi Arabia. Insights therein could inform curricular inform, preservice, and inservice teacher education and the national discourse around science in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Purpose This study examined Saudi secondary school students’ views of the NOS and their epistemological beliefs by gender. Sample The convenience sample comprised 592 Saudi male (66%) and female (44%) grade 10–12 students from boys’ and girls’ schools (N = 8) in one major city in the KSA’s Eastern Province. Design and Methods A quantitative research design entailed the administration of two self-report instruments in winter 2018: Scientific Epistemological Views (SEVs) instrument (measured NOS) and the Epistemological Belief Inventory (EBI). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Gendered profiles of Saudi secondary students’ views of the NOS and epistemological beliefs were developed. Female students’ NOS mean scores were significantly higher than males. Male students presented more naive epistemological beliefs than females. All respondents scored highest on the role of Social Negotiation when creating scientific knowledge revealing it as a key element of their scientific epistemological beliefs. All respondents scored highest on Omniscient Authority intimating they believed that scientific knowledge comes from authority. For all respondents, Cultural Impacts was a significant predictor of more sophisticated epistemological beliefs. Conclusions The NOS and epistemological beliefs of Saudi secondary students were affected by gendered differences, religious Islamic teachings, and culture. These insights are important, because Saudi students’ understandings of NOS affect their perceptions of science and how it can become part of their epistemological belief system. Religious beliefs, culture, and gender must be considered when designing Saudi science curricula and preservice and inservice teacher education.