Understanding the Nature of Science (NoS) for Elementary School Students Based on Gender

Abstract

This research examines elementary school students' understanding of the Nature of Science (NoS) based on gender. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the level of understanding of male and female students regarding NoS concepts, which are an important foundation in science learning. This study uses a descriptive quantitative approach with a survey method to obtain students' understanding of NoS. The sampling technique was carried out through purposive sampling by considering certain characteristics relevant to the research objectives. The research sample consisted of upper elementary school students in the West Java region. The research instrument was a questionnaire containing 47 positive and negative statements with a Likert scale based on the components of NoS, namely scientific knowledge, scientific process, and scientific attitude, which had been developed through literature review and expert validation to explore students' understanding of various aspects of NoS. The results showed that male students obtained an average score of 66, while female students obtained an average score of 65. The difference between these figures was very small, indicating that there was no significant difference in NoS understanding between male and female students. These findings show that NoS understanding is not determined by gender. This study has limitations because it only focused on one region, so the results do not reflect the broader situation. Therefore, further research is recommended to be conducted with a larger geographical coverage and considering other categories such as interests, place of residence, class level, profession and other categories. With a broader research coverage, a more comprehensive reprecentation of students' understanding of NoS in Indonesia is expected to be obtained.