• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.169-191
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• 2005

By analyzing a national survey of public understanding of science and technology, this paper attempts to examine public perceptions of scientists and engineers in Korea. A special attention is given to the gap in the view of scientists and engineers across generation, gender, and class fields (or major fields). This paper shows that generation has the strongest effect on public perceptions of scientists and engineers among all the socio-demographic factors examined in this study. Those over 50 are more likely to have the conventional idealized images of scientists and the stereotypical negative images of scientists simultaneously, while the 20s are less likely to accept the idealized image of scientists. The survey result thus may suggest that the younger generation began to depart from a patriotic and moral description of scientists and engineers-for the younger generation, science and engineering is losing moral respect but becomes perceived as an ordinary occupation. Contrary to the popular belief, however, gender has little effect on public perceptions of scientists and engineers. This finding questions the assertion that female students possess more negative attitudes toward scientists and engineers than male students, and thus are reluctant to develop careers related to science and engineering. By uncovering that class fields (or major areas) have no effect on the image of scientists, this study also call into question the assertion in the science wars that the inadequate appreciation of science particularly among those who do not major in science and engineering is responsible for inadequate support for science and technology.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.451-460
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• 1997

Various modern social problems are also related with science and technology. Thorough understanding about Technology-Society(STS) interactions is required to take informed action about how to deal effectively with these problems. In this case, there is a need for STS education. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of high -school students and science teachers about Technology-Society interactions and differences of their perceptions. It is my hope that this thesis will contribute to future "General Science" class in Korea. We obtained the data by a survey of 414 high school students who took "General Science" courses in Seoul and 54 of their science teachers. The survey was made using 10 multiple-choice items selected from the VOSTS (Views On Science-Technology-Society) item pool. The results of this study are as follow: 1. More than half of the students and teachers thought that science is exploring the unknown and discovering new things. Their perceptions about the science are somewhat stable, but about the technology various. 2. Most students and teachers thought that science and technology interact and complement each other. They also thought that the improvement in the quality of life needs investments in both science and technology 3. Most students and teachers thought social facts as community, government, and politics influenced scientists and scientific research. They also had a good understanding about the effects of science and technology on society. We can conclude from this that they had a Science-Technology-Society oriented viewpoint. 4. There are significant differences between the perceptions of boys and girls in following categories (p<.05): Influence of Community or Government Agencies on Scientists Influence of Politics on Scientists Role of Scieoce/Technology in Resolving Social Problems 5. There are significant differences between the perceptions of students and teachers in following categories (p<.05): Definition of Science Influence of Politics on Scientists

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.293-304
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• 2018

In spite of a growing number of recent studies that indicate students are coming to view scientists with more varied images, the stereotypical image of scientists remains in many students' minds. In this study, the authors explore how college students change their perceptions of science and scientists through the use of a documentary that focuses on scientists' daily lives, including laboratory life, and their emotional ups-and-downs. We analyzed 109 college students' essays on perceptions about scientists after watching the documentary. As a result, 64.2% of the college students declared that there was a change in their perception of scientists. The students' new perceptions of science and scientists are as follows: 1) scientists undergo emotional ups-and-downs just like any normal person; 2) scientists experience numerous failures while researching; 3) science does not have a fixed answer and scientists undertake research with creativity; 4) scientists conduct research in collaboration, but also in highly competitive environments; 5) scientists are often frustrated with their socio-economic status. The students' previous perceptions on science and scientists were mainly stereotypical ones that have been reported in previous studies. In addition, of the other college students who did not change their perceptions, the majority declared that they have new perceptions such as 1) - 5). Only a small percentage of students (7.3%) had unchanged stereotypical perceptions. These results are interpreted as that college students relatively easily change their stereotypical images of scientists after watching the documentary but, alternatively, the results can be interpreted that the most stereotypical images of college students are not perceptions that form a deep impression, but rather they are simply depictions of representative images of scientists given from outside sources (e.g. the mass media and school).

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.327-341
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to obtain science high school students' perceptions of scientists and their work before and after the Green Investigation program with scientists. This study also attempts to determine whether the program affected the participants' perceptions of scientists and their work. A modified DAST was carried out with 64 high school students. Findings revealed that Korean science high school students had normal perceptions of scientists, such as images of 20 to 30 year old males wearing laboratory coats and working alone in research labs with test tubes, flasks, and several machines in the background. After the intervention, students drew fewer typical items representing scientists and had significantly different perceptions of their work places between the pretest (M=1.69, SD=1.14) and posttest (M=1.96, SD=1.24, t=4.43, p<0.001) with the eta squared statistics (.24). These findings reflect the need for continued efforts of developing green investigation programs with scientists for students. Some future studies based on this study are also introduced.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.655-673
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• 2014

We investigated perceptions and image analysis on scientists studying small organisms reflected in elementary student's drawing using a modified version of the Drawing-A-Scientist-Test. The participants were 530 of fifth and sixth graders consisted of 449 ordinary students and 81 science gifted students. The data were collected from associated words, images and explanatory notes depicted by students engaged in questionnaires. The results indicated that a larger number of students reminded small sized animals and/or plants as words associated with small organisms. In addition, some students depicted anthropomorphic or abstract microorganisms. In this study, more stereotypes of scientists' appearance were exhibited at sixth graders and city region group. Most of the students depicted indicators such as lab coat, glasses, scientific instruments for observing, indoor, male and young, whereas only a few students depicted collaborative work. There was statistically significant difference between girls and boys, because boys perceived male scientists only, while half of girls depicted female. More frequent research instruments and scientific captions were used when science gifted students depicted scientists studying small organisms. These results could be contributed to education on microorganisms in elementary science.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.453-463
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• 2008

This study investigated the students' perceptions of environmental scientists and their work and the factors influencing the students' images of them by using the Draw-An-Environmental-Scientist-Test (DAEST). The DAEST was administered to 413 students in 10th and 11th grades selected from three high schools in Seoul. The results revealed that the students' images of environmental scientists were different from the stereotypical images of scientists. In the students' drawings, it was difficult to distinguish the gender and age of environmental scientists. Most students also perceived environmental scientists collecting data on environmental pollution by using experimental equipments and a laptop computer in the field. The students answered that the factors affecting their images of environmental scientists were mass media, school education, internet, and so on. According to the students' grade and gender, there were differences in the perceptions of environmental scientists and their work, and there were factors that influenced their images. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.770-782
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• 2022

This study analyzes the depictions of scientists and teachers' thoughts on the 2015 revised elementary school science authorized 3rd-4th grade textbooks from the perspective of gender equality, and suggest improvements for the 2015 elementary school science authorized 5th-6th grade textbooks as well as a 2022 revised elementary school science curriculum. The data consist of representations of scientists found in seven elementary science textbooks provided to 3rd- and 4th-grade students in 2022 as well as in-depth interviews conducted with three elementary school teachers and responses from 32 teachers in Gyeonggi-do. Of the 23 scientists depicted in the textbooks, three (13.0%) are female and 10 (43.5%) worked in the inquiry domain, which was the largest group. When the teachers were asked about their perceptions of the gender ratio of scientists in the textbooks, their answers revealed that they had lower perceptions of female scientists compared to male scientists; moreover, they had no or very little teaching experience concerning female scientists. Furthermore, the teachers' thoughts on improving the gender ratio of scientists depicted in the textbooks differed considerably by the teachers' gender. Based on these findings, it was concluded that during the process of producing textbooks, writers and members of society need to agree on the gender ratio of scientists to be represented, and a social consensus is needed to identify and introduce the achievements of previously unknown female scientists towards gender equality.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.177-190
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• 2001

This study examined young Korean children's perceptions about scientists, kindergarten science and the application of science in their daily lives. An interview questionnaire developed by the researchers and based on Chamber (1983)'s Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST), was administered to 104 five-year-old children. Most of the children (68.2%) saw themselves doing activity-oriented science in kindergarten, but they did not use outside kindergarten for the knowledge and skills they learn in science (70.4%). In general, children recognized scientist as a male working with lab equipment in the laboratory. Although most of children (74.5%) were interested in science, only a few of them (12.5%) hoped to be a scientist in the future. There were significant differences attributable to gender in preference for science; girls showed more interest in science than boys.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.81-99
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop scientist vignettes and to explore their effects to change students' perceptions of scientists, scientific attitudes, and the nature of science. The scientist vignettes developed in this study include research cases on seven scientists, including British zoologist Jane Goodall. Each vignette consists of 4 to 6 pages in consideration of the reading level of elementary school students, and contains illustrations describing the main contents of the text. In addition, scientist vignettes contain descriptions on terms and text boxes explaining the higher concepts, and each vignette contains questions that students can think deeply based on the story of the scientist. To verify the educational effectiveness of scientist vignettes, we investigated changes in their perceptions of scientists, scientific attitudes, and the nature of science in 564 elementary school students. We conducted group interviews with four elementary school teachers. As a result of conducting pre-test and post-test using a narrative questionnaire consisting of 6 questions, students became more sophisticated in the understanding of the science and the characteristics of scientists after experiencing scientist vignettes and their understanding the nature of science changed into a more modern epistemological perspective. Also, in a group interview with teachers, teachers assessed that scientist vignettes would positively affect the understanding of science process skills and the nature of science, and forming a scientific attitude, especially in increasing understanding of the nature of science. We discussed ways to effectively utilize scientist vignettes in elementary school science education based on these result.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.617-631
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• 2002

This study has examined 5-year students in the kindergarten and students in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade in the primary school to analyze their perceptions about scientists. science, and how they apply science in their daily lives. First, students have 4 stereotypic images on scientists, specifically in 'indoor', 'male', 'lab coat'. and 'scientific instrument'. There were significant differences in stereotypic images on scientists depending on genders and ages. Girls and primary students showed higher scores than boys and kindergarten students did. respectively, in stereotypic images on scientists. No differences were observed for the stereotypic images on scientists among primary students, regardless of their grades. Second, most of students were interested in science. Depending on grades, there were significant differences in their preference for science. Students in higher grades showed lower scores than those in lower grades did. In addition, only a few of them hoped to be a scientist in the future. Boys showed higher scores in their hope to be a scientist in the future than girls did. The students in lower grades showed higher scores than those in higher grades. Third, most of children thought themselves doing activity-oriented science in school. Outside school, however, they did not use the knowledge and skills they had learned for science in school. Students in the primary school showed more concept-oriented perception for science than those in kindergarten did. This perception was gradually increased as the grades of the students go up.