COMPUTER INCLINATION OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN RELATION TO THEIR STS VIEWS

The computer inclination (CI) of 881 eleventh-grade students and of th eir 181 teachers in relation to their Science-Technology-Society (STS) views was assessed in randomly selected high schools in British Colum bia using a two-part questionnaire: a short, modified version of the S urvey of Attitudes Toward Learning About and Working With Computers fo r the CI, and a condensed form of the Views on Science-Technology-Soci ety (VOSTS) Inventory for the STS views. Significant differences betwe en the computer inclinations of non-STS and STS students and between t he STS views of non-STS and STS teachers and students in the ''attitud e'' category were found, but there were no differences between other s ubgroups on these dimensions. Computer Inclination Indices (CII) and S cience/Technology Indices (ST(x)) have been defined and used for the e lucidation of possible correlations between the CIIs and the ST(x)s. I t is argued that the CIs and STS views of both students and teachers s hould be assessed and taken into consideration by the educational poli cy makers and developers of future science curricula and teacher train ing programs, if the goals of the currently sought reforms in science education are to be attained.