2.1.9 Effect of Using a Science Enrichment Program on High-Achieving Students' Science Achievement

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine the effect of a problem-based enrichment program based on using a science unit (Animal Population) on 10th-grade high-achieving female students’ science achievement, attitudes and perceptions about science at a high school in Al-Khodh, Muscat, Oman. The participants in this research study were 29 high-achieving female students at a high school in Al-Khodh, Muscat. These students were selected to participate in the enrichment program based on their achievement scores in science. Students who achieved 90% or more in the general science course in the first semester were selected to participate in the program. Students responded to the academic self-concept scale, attitudes towards the enrichment program scale, attitudes toward regular science scale, and perceptions about the enrichment program. These high-achieving students were grouped based on their achievement level in a self-contained classroom. The enrichment program lasted for two months and half in the school year 2017/2018. The research study followed a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative part included analyzing the effect of enrichment program on students’ science achievement, academic self-concept, attitudes toward science and attitudes toward general science course, and perceptions about the enrichment program. Students and their parents were consented to participate in the study. Students who returned the consent forms with their parents’ agreement to participate in the program were included in the study sample. Two lead female teachers, a teacher of physics and a teacher of biology were selected to supervise students during the program. The study included a qualitative part in which the students were interviewed by the two teachers supervising the enrichment program. The results of the study indicated that students’ attitude toward the enrichment program was positive. Students reported a high degree of involvement and satisfaction in working on problem solving activities in the science unit. For the qualitative part of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students. These interviews yielded some important themes about high-achieving students’ participation in the enrichment program. Generally, high-achieving female students’ attitudes toward the enrichment program were positive. Students reported several strengths of the program including encouraging problem solving in creative ways. Also, students reported that they acquired new methods of scientific inquiry skills. Students’ perceptions about the program were generally very supportive. Students held some important comparisons between the programs. No significant differences were found in students’ academic achievement in science and academic self-concept.

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