THE CHAIN MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED FAMILY SUPPORT FOR FORMAL AND INFORMAL SCIENCE LEARNING IN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND INFORMAL SCIENCE LEARNING EXPERIENCES

TitleTHE CHAIN MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED FAMILY SUPPORT FOR FORMAL AND INFORMAL SCIENCE LEARNING IN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND INFORMAL SCIENCE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsHe, X-xiang, Deng, Y-ping, Liu, J-hua, Sun, G-yu, Xiong, J-wen, Xiao, Y
JournalJournal of Baltic Science Education
Volume22
Issue2
Start Page232-253
PaginationContinuous
Date PublishedApril/2023
Type of ArticleOriginal article
ISSN1648-3898
Other NumbersE-ISSN 2538-7138
Keywordsfamily support, informal science learning experiences, mainland China, primary school students, socioeconomic status
Abstract

Students’ informal science learning experiences are believed to strongly influence their attitudes toward science and their abilities in the subject. Factors associated with students’ informal science learning experiences include family socioeconomic status and perceived family support. However, little is known about whether perceived family support for children’s formal and informal science learning differs significantly. The present study filled this gap by exploring how students’ perceived family support for formal/informal science learning affected the link between their socioeconomic status and their experiences of informal science learning. Survey data were collected from 486 Chinese grade 4-6 primary school students. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the students’ socioeconomic status and their informal science learning experiences were significantly and positively correlated. This association was chain-mediated through two categories of perceived family support. Specifically, students’ socioeconomic status affected their informal science learning experiences through the separate mediating role of family support for formal science learning and the sequential mediation of perceived family support for formal and informal science learning. These results uncover the role that family support plays in students’ science education; accordingly, parents are encouraged to help their children learn science both formally and informally.

URLhttps://oaji.net/articles/2023/987-1681286585.pdf
DOI10.33225/jbse/23.22.232
Refereed DesignationRefereed
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