의미분별법을 이용한 고등학생의 화학에 대한 이미지와 형성 원인 분석

An image is a collection of one’s belief, idea, and concept, which is not changed and effects on one’s thinking and behaviors for a long period. In this study, chemistry1-learned high school students’ images on the chemistry were analyzed by semantic differential method. The students have both positive images such as special, valuable, progressive, new and negative images such as pollute, harmful, stink, worrying, dangerous, and artificial. It had been attempted to find out the origin of the images by free association method but the intimately connected words to chemistry was neutral ones which were biased to neither positive nor negative. That is presumably because contents in chemistry textbook deliver neutral concepts related to chemistry itself. By analyzing additional reading materials in the textbook, it was found that topics of the materials were mostly related to value and development of chemistry, leading to positive images. In a following analysis of new topics related to chemistry, it was found that the 78.1% of chemistry-related news reflected negative images of chemistry. Regardless of in-class learning, the students consistently exposed to negative news could be biased negative images on chemistry. The chemistry class including textbook was beneficial for forming positive images on chemistry but it is necessary to develop other means for dispelling negative images on chemistry.