YOUNG PUPILS IDEAS ABOUT THE MICROSCOPIC NATURE OF MATTER IN 3 DIFFERENT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

This study looks at the ideas which children have of the particulate m odel of matter, at the time they start formal science in school. Pupil s aged about eleven in three European countries-Greece, Portugal and t he UK-were studied using word association tests. In the UK and Portuga l the children had received no teaching of the particulate model; in G reece the pupils had received one year of introductory science, contai ning some teaching of the particulate model. Key words associated;vith the particulate model were investigated as free associations. In Port ugal and the UK there was little or no evidence of particulate ideas i n the pupils' responses. In the Greek data particulate ideas were more in evidence. There were other clear differences in the data from the three countries. Educational and research implications of the findings are discussed.