This paper describes, in some detail, stages in the development of a Science Attitude Scale for Jamaican 10th-grade students. The statistical techniques employed with the original item pool (and which resulted in a 36-item scale being proposed as a suitable instrument for the purpose intended) are discussed. Reliability and preliminary validation exercises are also reported, and proposals for further refinement of the new scale are outlined.
In recent years West Indian science curricula have, like those developed elsewhere, been emphasizing the affective domain, as is seen, for example, in the Jamaican Ministry of Education's general science curricula for Grades 1 to 11, as well as in the integrated science syllabus recently introduced for examination by the Caribbean Examinations Council. As a result, the measurement of scientific attitudes has assumed a prominent role in the evaluation of such programmes. To date however much of the local work in this area has made use of science attitude scales developed elsewhere (typically that of Moore and Sutman), and as such, the suitability of these instruments for Jamaican samples is questionable, especially where no attempt has been made to ensure their reliability and validity within the local context.