Assessing culturally sensitive factors in the learning environment of science classrooms

The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop an instrument to assess learning environment factors that are culturally sensitive, to provide initial validation information on the instrument and to examine associations between students' perceptions of their learning environments and their attitudes towards science and the achievement of inquiry skills. A measure of these factors of science students' learning environment, namely the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire, was developed from past learning environment instruments and influenced by Hofstede's four dimensions of culture (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity/femininity). The reliability and discriminant validity for each scale were obtained and associations between learning environment, attitude to science and inquiry skills achievement were found.