Results and Interpretation
In accordance with the aim of the present study, children’s ideas about science were investigated both at the beginning and at the end of the science camp. The coding scheme emerged during the qualitative analysis was presented in Table 1. The names in the quotes are pseudonyms. The number in parentheses corresponds to frequency of the related code.
At the Beginning of the Science Camp
They defined science mainly as doing inquiry, experiments, and observation. Next, its purpose and its benefits to the society were indicated in their definitions of science. They also indicated scope of science, its relationship with technology, and being endless in their definitions.
There were three basic conceptions of science among children. Four children stated only that science is knowledge. Scientific knowledge is the product of the scientific process. Thus, such ideas about science were categorized as “only product of science”. On the other hand, five children stated only the process of science in their definitions and were classified as “only process of science”. Fifteen children were close to ideal conception of science which includes both process and product of science. Such ideas were classified as “both process and product of science”. These three conceptions of science were elaborated in more detail in the following paragraphs.
Children who indicated only product of science defined science as knowledge, finding results, and developing knowledge. But these children did not describe how these knowledge or results were obtained as it is evident in the following quotes