Basic science operations skills for academically superior students In the eighth grade in the city of Hodeidah

Abstract

The aim of this research is to reveal the level of possession of basic science operations skills by academically superior students in the eighth grade in Al-Hodeidah city schools. On a sample that consisted of (50) male and female students who obtained 90% or more in the end-of-school exams in the seventh grade and the exams at the end of the first semester in the eighth grade for all subjects, and its stability was calculated by internal consistency where its stability coefficient reached (0.75) and its final form is from ( 19) questions, and the research was applied to a sample consisting of (137) male and female students, who were chosen in an intentional manner from the outstanding eighth grade students in public and private schools in Hodeidah for the academic year 2010/2009. The research reached a number of results, the most important of which are:

1- The low level of students’ possession in the research sample as a whole of science operations skills, and for each of the science operations skills, and their lack of an acceptable level.

2- The percentage of students' scores for the skills: measurement, awareness of spatio-temporal relationships, and use of numbers did not exceed (36%) of the total score for each skill. The observation and classification skills were the only two skills that exceeded the percentage of mean scores of the sample members as a whole on each of them (75%). Observation skill was the only skill possessed by private school students at an acceptable level, as the level of their possession of it reached (82%) of the total score for this skill.

3- There is no statistical significance for the differences between the average scores of students’ possession in the research sample, according to the variables of school type, and gender on the basic science operations skills as a whole, and for each skill separately, except for the classification skills, and the use of numbers where the differences were statistically significant in favor of private school students. And the skill of using numbers, where the differences were statistically significant in favor of males.