Abstract
Valid measures of scientific literacy are necessary if we are to meet the goal of science for all as suggested by Project 2061. Therefore, this study reports on the development and validation of a Chinese version of The Test of Basic Scientific Literacy, TBSL, (English version) developed by Laugksch & Spargo (1996). The TBSL contains three sub-tests: content, nature of science, and science, technology and society (STS). The content sub-test consists of earth science and astronomy, life science, physical science, and health science items. In order to validate the Chinese version the instrument was administered to students from three high schools in one district in Taiwan. The results show that the Chinese version of the TBSL was reliable with a Cronbach alpha of 0.97 for the entire test and 0.96 for the content sub-test, 0.86 for the nature of science sub-test and 0.88 for the STS sub-test. Furthermore science majors scored higher than non-science majors, grade 12 students performed better than tenth graders and students from higher-achieving schools scored better than those from lower-achieving schools. Moreover, the Chinese version maintained the construct validity, face validity, and criterion-related validity of the original test. High school students in this study performed better in health science, STS, and earth science and astronomy. However, the scores from the nature of science and physical science were relatively lower.
| Keywords: | scientific literacy; science/technology/society; nature of science; Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL); high school students |
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