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.

It is proposed to conduct a survey of junior secondary schools in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana to ascertain typical levels of cognitive development, in Piagetian terms, in different types of schools and localities. The object of the survey is to provide accurate data on levels of concept development which may be used in the preparation and modification of science curricula throughout the secondary school system in the Caribbean.