Using the socioscientific issue approach to foster secondary students’ argumentation skills, science self-efficacy beliefs and science interest

Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are open-ended social problems with substantive connections to science. They represent the kind of situations in which many people must decide between different perspectives and decisions. Therefore, using these issues in formal science education provides an ideal approach for promoting scientific literacy and moral education. We designed a series of seven lessons that aimed to build relevant skills in young people so that they can participate responsibly in pandemic response measures. In the study, three classes with 49 Grade 9 students formed the basis for a mixed-methods analysis. We measured knowledge, attitudes, and argumentation skills. Science interest and self-efficacy beliefs increased, although students showed no growth on average in the knowledge test. Unexpectedly, no significant development in moral and value attitudes was detected. However, socioscientific accountability turned out to be helpful in explaining differences in interest and efficacy beliefs. Argumentation skills seemed dependent on the students’ socioeconomic status (SES) only. Various proposals for further studies on the hitherto little-studied interactions between variables for explaining SSI understanding are discussed.