Introduction
Science is the concerted human effort to understand, or to understand better the history of the natural world and how the natural world works, with observable physical evidence as the basis of that understanding. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate natural processes under controlled conditions. The methods and skills used by scientists are intimately connected to a set of attitudes common in the practice of science.
Attitude refers to the predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. Attitude influences an individual's choice of action, and responses to challenges, incentives, and rewards (together called stimuli). Students’ attitudes to a lesson may be positive or negative. The positive attitude of a person originates in making use of those resources that it has to solve its problems and difficulties. Conversely, the negative attitude is an inexhaustible source of troubles and defeatist feelings. Attitudes are constant and unchangeable beliefs acquired due to the experiences of the students. Four major components of attitude are (1) Affective: emotions or feelings. (2) Cognitive: belief or opinions held consciously. (3) Conative: inclination for action. (4) Evaluative: positive or negative response to stimuli.
In the teaching and learning process in Science, the cognitive and psychomotor domains are given much emphasis while the affective domain which pertains to the attitude and behaviour of the learners are often set aside and not given much attention. The affective domain plays an important role in science instruction, and attitudes towards science are affected by many variable.
Kind,et al(2007) have defined attitude as the feeling that one has on the basis of knowledge and belief about an object, where science is an object, therefore attitude is towards science. Attitudes towards science is a complex concept, that is why according to Chang et al, 2009, attitudes toward science have been a long issue and concern for the past decades, for defining the true essence and concepts of attitudes are hard to obtain since it is not directly observed to an individual (Kind, Jones and Barmby, 2007 ).In addition, Koballa and Glyn (2007), suggested that often attitudes are used interchangeably with terms such as interest, beliefs, curiosity, opinions, and other commonly used affective-related variables. Clearly, the concept of attitudes towards science (often referred to as constructs) is a conglomerate of several components. Osborne et al. (2003) summarized a range of studies related to the attitude issue and suggested a list of components used and incorporated a range of components including the following; the perception of the science teacher, anxiety towards science, the value of science, self-esteem regarding science, motivation for science, attitudes of peers towards science, enjoyment of science, the nature of the classroom learning environment, achievement in science and fear of failure in taking a science course, preference of learning approaches (pedagogy)-subject preference courses and enrolment in science courses in school. It is relevant to determine the attitude towards science for it affects the course and career choices of students and it is important to examine its different aspects and reinforce weak aspects through designing different educational programs.
Several studies shows through the publication of the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) have indicated that there is a significant association between student attitudes with achievement outcomes. According to Martin, Mullis, Foy and Stanco (2012) each successive TIMSS assessment has shown a strong positive relationship within countries between student attitudes toward science and their science achievement, and that the relationship was bidirectional, with attitudes and achievement mutually influencing each other. They reported that the TIMSS 2011 international results in science indicated that in biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science, the students who liked learning the subject had higher average achievement than those who only somewhat liked or did not like learning it. Further proof, Ali and Awan (2013) conducted a study to examine the relationship between students’ attitudes towards science and achievement in science. The study involved 1,885 grade 10 students in Pakistan. Their results indicated that attitude towards science had a significantly positive relationship with achievement. The students who have positive attitude toward science secured higher achievement score. Contrary to this, students having negative attitude toward science received low achievement score.
In the Philippines, National Achievement Test (NAT), is an annual examination given to both Grade 6 and 4th Year students to measure the knowledge and mastery over the subjects like Mathematics, Science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan. High school students from all over the Philippines take NAT as part of their curricular requirement, including the high schools in the Division of Camarines Sur. However, DepEd data showed that the average NAT score of public high school students for School Year 2011 to 2012 was significantly lower at 48.9% compared to the elementary students' 66.79%, thus, making the performance of the country's public high school students in the NAT on the decline and are significantly lower than the scores of public elementary students. In addition, in the 2008 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, it states that Philippines ranked 41st in maths and 42nd in science (out of 46 participating countries) in the second year high school level. And to support the research result, Sexton, Franklin, Gerlovich and McElroy (2010) said that a child’s attitude carries a mental state of readiness with it. With a positive attitude, a child will perceive science objects, topics, activities, and people positively. A child, who is unready or hesitant, for whatever reason, will be less willing to interact with people and things associated with science, thus, result in poor outcomes. This readiness factor occurs unconsciously in a child, without prior thought or overt consent. It is the reason why examination of student attitudes toward science are important since attitude can influence students’ educational achievement in a way that reinforce higher or lower performance (Papanastasiou and Papanastasiou, 2002; Papanastasiou & Zembylas, 2002).
Based on the Bicol Regional Development plan of 2011-2016, the Results of the National Achievement Test for elementary and high school indicate below average performance in all subject areas. A growing number of graduates of technical, vocational, and college degree courses are not gainfully employed. Passing rate in licensure examinations is low. Some skills acquired through education and training does not match the skills required by the domestic and global labour market. Accessible and affordable learning opportunities are inadequate for special clientele groups like women, disabled persons, and indigenous.
The attitudes of the student towards science may seem a little thing to consider in the learning process but it is still greatly contributing to the improvement of the learner. It is the reason why attitudes should always be assess because according to Pell 2005, he believes that positive attitude helps to level up classroom instruction and increase students’ participation in science activities, thus, improving the learning process.