Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering

ISSN for PRINT: 1072-8325

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2003, Volume9

Issue 3&4

218 pages

DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v9.i34

Issue price - $84.00

Marissa Echevarria
Graduate School of Education, 1207 Sproul Hall, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521

Given the emphasis on "science for all" in national reform documents, this study analyzed student science achievement scores in hands-on reform versus traditional classrooms for 3,667 students in Grades 3 to 6 by gender, ethnicity, free or reduced lunch status, parent education, and level of English proficiency to determine whether these subgroups performed better or worse in reform classrooms. Teachers in reform classrooms used exemplary hands-on science kits and attended 1-day in-service training per kit. Teachers in traditional classrooms used the regular activity-based science curriculum with textbook. Gender differences favoring boys appeared in both types of classrooms, but were larger in the reform classrooms. Boys from lower socioeconomic levels performed better in reform classrooms, but limited-English-proficient boys performed worse. Parent education was significantly related to higher achievement for boys only in reform classrooms. For girls this relation was significant only in traditional classrooms. White girls performed significantly worse in reform classroom, but there were no differences for Asian and Hispanic girls. Implications for adapting hands-on science reform to meet student needs are discussed.

DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v9.i34.110 Download article, 28 pages

Article price - $35.00

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