Journal of Baltic Science Education

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Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, JBSE, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2004

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Authors: Janis Gedrovics

This is the fifth number of Journal of Baltic Science Education and it marks the beginning of the third year of its publication. We have been planning to publish two numbers this year, as we have always been doing before. The editorial board is expecting the journal to become increasingly interesting, multidimensional and helpful to all of its readers: researchers, students, teachers, and graduate students. A two-year experience has proved relevance of the journal. 27 scientific works have been published. In addition, it not only offers scientists from Baltic States the possibility to present their researches and ideas but also helps to make contacts with researchers in other countries. The journal is open from this point of view, and we expect a lively interest from the scientific community. It is worth mentioning here that the journal has been included in the EBSCO database and is now available to all of its readers. Similarly, it has been included in the special list of quotable international publications by Latvian Science Academy which has certified to its scientific significance.

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Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas, Janis Gedrovics, Jekabs Raipulis

The global tendency is obvious: interest in science is on the decrease, the number of pupils choosing university science curriculums has been constantly declining, and scientific knowledge in society (especially among young people) is inadequate. In our opinion, humanity verges on social cataclysms owing to inadequate natural science education as well as on insufficient and often improper knowledge of nature and human. Natural sciences give us most fundamental knowledge about the world of nature. Encouragement of young people’s interest in science is the essential scientific problem. As educational paradigms are being altered we must search for new quality approaches to teaching chemistry and other science subjects. The research, which involved 350 senior pupils from Latvia and 762 from Lithuania, analyzes present-day situation in natural science education. We tried to analyze the factors that cause the interest in natural sciences to decline: inadequate content of teaching, issues related to teachers‘ competence, general attitude of society to natural sciences etc.

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Authors: Benita Bagata, Andrejs Geske, Rita Kiselova

The task of research was to find out if the TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) tests could be used to compare the average achievements of schools at regional level. All eight-formers of the Valmiera (Latvia) region participated in the investigation. The study showed than on average, the achievements of the schoolchildren of the Valmiera region are more considerable than those at national level in general. Moreover, the representatives of the city site rather than the participants of the rural area were more successful in the Valmiera region as well as throughout the country. However, analysis indicates that some schools of the rural area have achieved impressive results while knowledge of a number of the learners of the city remains rather poor. The data is important to education leaders of the region because school situation and the results of this research can help to carry out the assessment of every school. The obtained information regarding pupils’ performance in each of the subject content groups is essential for schools. In general, we may consider that a parallel TIMSS study undertaken in one of the regions of Latvia has been very successful and education leaders, school principals and teachers of the area received valuable information.

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Authors: Rudite Andersone

One of the targets of natural sciences is the development of social skills of a student. The process involves a few important aspects such as education objectives (knowledge, social and learning skills, values), upbringing objectives, patterns of lessons, and needs of a student. Research shows that regarding the patterns of lessons different opinions exist between students and teachers. Currently, we are facing this problem. The documents of the European Union represent new views on the goals of education which also include the development of social skills.

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Authors: Palmira Pečiuliauskienė, Alfonsas Rimeika

Research seeks to establish comprehensive school graduates‘ abilities to complete drills (knowledge and comprehension) and problem solving assignments (knowledge application) on physics. In 2000 – 2003, following the indexes confirmed by the exam centre, the tasks of the national A-level exams were grouped into arduous, hard, optimal, easy and very easy. The assignments of each of the groups were classified into drills and questions to be solved. It has been discovered that none of the groups of difficulty of the assignments of physics has ever statistically approved a deviation of relative frequency. Thus, when completing drills and problem solving assignments of physics a deviation of schoolchildren‘s abilities is also statistically invalidated. The assessment of tasks agreeably to resolution of an assignment indicates that more problem solving assignments than drills of physics are included into the groups of the tasks of a proper and very proper resolution. A statistically approved deviation of relative frequency of drills and problem solving assignments of physics that can be found in the groups of a proper and very proper resolution reveals that the learners whose abilities in completing problem solving assignments are more outstanding better cope with all tasks of the national A-level exams in physics.