Journal of Educational Sciences > Volume 26, No. 1, 2014

Scientific literacy level of 8th grade students: A comparison between the governmental schools and the private bilingual schools in the Sultanate of Oman / Abdullah Ambusaidi, Marwa Al-Hinia

This research study aims to investigate the scientific literacy level for the eighth grade students in the Sultanate of Oman, and its relation to gender and type of school (government / private bilingual). The study sample consisted of (502) 8th grade students selected from governmental and private bilingual schools. To achieve the study main aims, a scientific literacy test has been constructed which consisted of (61) items distributed on four dimensions (components) of scientific literacy. After that the test was verified through panel of judges to find out its validity. Its reliability was obtained by internal consistency method using Alpha Cronbach, which gave the value of (0.84). The results of the study revealed that students' performance in the total scientific literacy test and its four components were below the educationally accepted criterion (80%). In addition, the results showed no statistical significant difference in the scientific literacy level due to gender and type of school. However, the results showed that there was a statistical significant difference in the interaction between gender and the type of school students in scientific knowledge dimension in favor of female students of private schools. In the light of these findings, number of recommendations and suggestions were proposed.
Key Words: Scientific Literacy Dimension, Gender, Type of School.