大学初年次学生の分野別科学のイメージ

天文学のイメージの特異性

抄録

　The purpose of this research was to examine freshmen’s images of science, as well as to reveal the unique feature of the image of astronomy. In Study 1, participants were asked to write several adjectives or adjective verbs they found suitable to characterize the images of 22 fields of science (e.g., mathematics, engineering, astronomy, law, art). The descriptive statistics and correspondence analysis showed that images of astronomy and art were more positive (e.g., beautiful) than the images of other fields. In Study 2, participants were asked to evaluate the image of sciences on 22 adjective scales. The factor analysis identified 4 cognitive dimensions (difficult, beautiful, vast, and interesting). In addition, the cluster analysis classified 11 fields of science into 4 clusters (cluster 1: mathematics, philosophy, physics, medicine, chemistry; cluster 2: engineering, economics, law; cluster 3: astronomy, art; cluster 4: literature). Furthermore, ANOVA and t-test showed that the image of cluster 3 (astronomy and art) was more positive (beautiful, vast, interesting) than the images of other clusters. The implication of the findings for science communication was discussed.