Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether second and third grade primary school students' attitudes towards life science course change according to gender, type of school, grade level, and the province/district where they study. In this research, crosssectional survey designs were used. The sample of the study consists of 2013 second and third grade primary school students from 3 private and 16 public primary schools in Çanakkale’s central district, and Yenice, Çan, Biga districts. The research data were collected by means of "Attitude Scale towards Life Science Course" developed by Zayimoğlu Öztürk and Coşkun (2015) and "Personal Information Form" developed by the researcher. A significant difference was found in favor of the male students in their “total attitude scores towards life science course” and sub-factor total scores. The "total attitude scores towards life science course" and the total negative attitude sub-factor scores towards life science course of the second and third grade primary school students were found to be significantly different in favor of the second-grade primary school students, whereas there was no significant difference in the total positive attitude sub-factor scores towards life science course according to grade level. The total negative attitude scores towards life science course, the total positive attitude sub-factor scores towards life science course and the total attitude scores towards life science course of the second and third grade primary school students were in favor of those who studied in Çanakkale’s center and Çan district. The total attitude and sub-factor scores of the second and third grade primary school students towards life science course were not significantly different according to type of school.