Abstract
The aim of the study was to survey lower secondary school pupils’ understanding of endocrine and urinary system. The pilot study was carried out among 78 respondents and the main research was carried out among 204 respondents. The contour of human body drawn on an A4-size paper was used as a research tool, with the students being asked to fill in the required information. Another aim was to determine the influence of selected variables like gender, school location (village vs. town), year of study, presence of a doctor in the family and the pupil’s perception of his or her own health. The analysis of variance was used as statistical method. The pupils tended to add drawings of urinary system organs more frequently than those of the endocrine system. The variables with significant influence on the results were gender, year of study, school location and the pupil’s perception of his or her own health.References
Arnaudin, M. W., & Mintzes, J. J. (1985). Students' alternative conceptions of the human circulatory system: A cross-age study. Science Education, 69(5), 721-733.
Bahar, M. (2003). Misconceptions in biology education and conceptual change strategies. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 3(1), 55-64.
Bahar, M., Ozel, M., Prokop, P., & Usak, M. (2008). Science student teachers’ ideas of the heart. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 7(2), 78-85.
Bajd, B., Praprotnik, L., & Matyášek, J. (2008). Basic knowledge of the cardiovascular system: A comparison betweenstudents of the faculties of education in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Brno (Czech Republic). School and Health, 21(3), 7-15.
Bartoszeck, A. B., Machaldo, D. Z., & Amann-Gainotti, M. (2008). Representations of internal body image: A study of preadolescents and adolescent students in Araucaria, Parana, Brazil. Ciencias & Cognicao, 13(2), 139-159.
Berengeur, J., Corraliza, J. A., & Martin, R. (2005). Rural-urban differences in environmental concern, attitudes, and actions. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 21(2), 128-138.
Cakici, Y. (2005). Exploring Turkish upper primary level pupils' understanding of digestion. International Journal of Science Education, 27(1), 79-100.
Costu, B., Ayas, A., Niaz, M., Unal, S., & Calik, M. (2007). Facilitating conceptual change in students' understanding of boiling concept. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(6), 524-536.
Čáp, J. (1983). Psychologie pro učitele. Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství.
Čáp, J., & Mareš, J. (2001). Psychologie pro učitele. Praha: Portál.
Duit, R. (2002). Conceptual change – still a powerful frame for improving science teaching and learning? Paper presented at the Third European Symposium on Conceptual Change: A Process Approach to Conceptual Change. Turku, Finland, June, 26-28.
Fisher, K. M. (1985). A misconception in biology: Amino acids and translation. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 22(1), 53-62.
Gabriels, R. L., Wamboldt, M. Z., McCormick, D. R., Adams, T. L., & McTaggart, S. R. (2000). Childrens illness drawings and asthma symptom awareness. Journal of Asthma, 37(7), 565-574.
Havu-Nuutinen, S., & Keinonen, T. (2010). The changes in pupils’ conceptions of human body based on science, technology and society based teaching. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 9(3), 212-223.
Kellert, S. R., & Westervelt, M. O. (1984). Children's attitudes, knowledge and behaviors towards animals. Children's Environments Quarterly, 1(3), 8-11.
Köse, S. (2008). Diagnosing student misconceptions: using drawings as a research method. World Applied Sciences Journal, 3(2), 283-293.
Kubiatko, M., & Balátová, K. (2014). Are storks homosexuals? Persistence of misconceptions among university students. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 13(4), 448-457.
Kučerová, S., Mattern, T., Štych, P., & Kučera, Z. (2011). Změny dostupnosti základních škol v česku jako faktor znevýhodnění regionů a lokalit. Geografie, 116(3), 300-316.
Makonore, V., & Reiss, M. J. (2003). Pupils drawings of what is inside themselves: A case study in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research, 15(1), 28-43.
McEwen, B. S., & Stellar, E. (1993). Stress and the individual mechanisms leading to disease. Archives of Internal Medicine, 153(18), 2093-2101.
Mier van, H. (2006). Developmental differences in drawing performance of the dominant and non-dominant hand in right-handed boys and girls. Human Movement Science, 25(4-5), 657-677.
Nakhleh, M. B. (1992). Why some students don‘t learn chemistry – Chemical misconceptions. Journal of Chemical Education, 69(3), 191-196.
Özsevgec, L. C. (2007). What do Turkish students at different ages know about their internal body parts both visually and verbally? Journal of Turkish Science Education, 4(2), 31-44.
Prokop, P., & Fančovičová, J. (2006). Students’ ideas about the human body: Do they really draw what they know? Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2(10), 86-95.
Prokop, P., & Fančovičová, J. (2008). Students’ understanding of human pregnancy. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 7(1), 37-47.
Prokop, P., Fančovičová, J., & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2009). The effect of type of instruction on expression of children’s knowledge: How do children see the endocrine and urinary system? International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 4(1), 75-93.
Reiss, M. J., & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2001). Students' understandings of human organs and organ systems. Research in Science Education, 31(3), 383-399.
Reiss, M. J. a kol. (2002). An international study of young peoples’ drawings of what is inside themselves. Journal of Biological Education, 36(2), 58-64.
Schneider, I., & Ohadi, M. M. (1998). Unraveling students' misconceptions about the Earth's shape and gravity. Science Education, 82(2), 265-284.
Tuman, D. M. (1999). Gender style as form and content: An examination of gender stereotypes in the subject preference of children's drawing. Studies in Art Education, 41(1), 40-60.
Wallach, P. M. a kol. (2001). Standardized patients' perceptions about their own health care. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 13(4), 227-231.
Žoldošová, K., & Prokop, P. (2007). Primary pupils’ preconceptions about child prenatal development. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 3(3), 239-246.