A Comparative Study of Primary and Secondary School Students' Images of Scientists

Abstract

The Draw-A-Scientist Test was administered to 675 Hong Kong Chinese students to explore their images of scientists. The main purposes were to discover any differences across grade levels and between male and female students, and to see if the results were comparable to those found in studies in other parts of the world. As in the findings of earlier research, there was evidence that students developed a more stereotypic image of a scientist with age and that the scientists drawn were predominantly male. It was also noted that some students, though a small percentage, included special captions and comments to express their views of the scientist. While the DAST is a feasible and simple method, future studies should supplement it with interviews for deeper understanding of students' constructs.