University science students' experiences of investigative project work andtheir images of science

In this paper we consider the ways in which students' activities during pro ject work are influenced by their images of science, e.g. their views about the purposes of science, the nature of scientific knowledge and the role o f social processes in scientific activity. We also investigate the kinds of project activities which promote the development of students' images of sc ience. We draw on case studies of 11 science students' experiences of inves tigative project work in their final year at university. For one of these s tudents naive views about the epistemology of science constrain her project activities. We suggest that the concept of 'epistemic demand' may help in anticipating difficulties that students might have during project work. We also find that students' images of science are developed as a result of mes sages communicated both implicitly and explicitly through project work.