Background

Evidence so far shows that Waldorf students are characterized by average science achievement but at the same time high socioeconomic status and high science motivation. Moreover, Waldorf education is characterized by high emphasis on inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The present study investigates if the specific attitude-achievement constellation of Waldorf students in science may be explained by the high level of IBSE.

Methods

Propensity score matching was applied to control for Waldorf students’ more advantageous social background using the Austrian PISA 2015 sample (N = 7007 15-year old students). After propensity score matching, 1107 matched controls were included alongside all 149 Waldorf students.

Results

The results show that Waldorf students report higher enjoyment in learning science and more interest in broad science topics than matched controls. On the other hand, they demonstrate lower science achievement. Mediation analyses show that, although Waldorf students’ more positive attitudes towards science can be almost entirely attributed to their higher exposure to IBSE, their underperformance in science cannot.

Conclusions

These results indicate that attending a school type with a high level of IBSE (Waldorf) may have positive effects on attitudinal outcomes (enjoyment and interest in science) whereas it does not seem to have notable effects on science achievement. This indicates that IBSE could be applied in educational contexts aiming to increase students’ scientific attitudes.

中文翻译：

---

解释华德福学生在科学上的高动机但中等成就：基于探究的科学教育是关键吗？

背景

迄今为止的证据表明，华德福学生的特点是科学成绩一般，但同时具有较高的社会经济地位和较高的科学动机。此外，华德福教育的特点是高度重视探究式科学教育（IBSE）。本研究调查了华德福科学专业学生的特定态度成就星座是否可以用高水平的 IBSE 来解释。

方法

使用奥地利 PISA 2015 样本（N = 7007 名 15 岁学生），应用倾向得分匹配来控制华德福学生更有利的社会背景。倾向得分匹配后，1107 名匹配的对照被纳入所有 149 名华德福学生。

结果

结果表明，与匹配的对照组相比，华德福学生报告说他们在学习科学方面有更高的乐趣，对广泛的科学主题更感兴趣。另一方面，他们表现出较低的科学成就。中介分析表明，虽然华德福学生对科学更积极的态度几乎可以完全归因于他们更多地接触 IBSE，但他们在科学方面的表现不佳却不能。

结论

这些结果表明，就读具有高水平 IBSE（华德福）的学校类型可能对态度结果（对科学的享受和兴趣）产生积极影响，而它似乎对科学成就没有显着影响。这表明 IBSE 可以应用于旨在提高学生科学态度的教育环境。