Within the Scope of the Science without Borders Project The Change in Attitudes of Science Center Instructors

Introduction: The current study aimed at determining how the training provided before and during the project, the interaction activities, and the role-playing exercises simulating appropriate behaviors influenced the instructors’ views, experiences, and attitudes toward students with special needs as a part of the Science Without Borders project. For this aim, the researchers carried out implementations to examine the effect of activities organized at the Bursa Science and Technology Center over eight days on the attitudes of 41 middle school students with special needs toward science and scientific activities. Method: The researchers used the case study design, one of the qualitative research approaches, in this study. The study group consisted of eight instructors permanent science center instructors and were involved in the project. The researchers selected participants through criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method. The researchers collected participants’ views using a semi-structured interview form they developed and conducted focus group interviews. They then analyzed the data using descriptive analysis. Findings: The researchers identified four main themes: the instructors’ experiences, attitudes, and thoughts regarding students with special needs before the project; the project’s impact on their attitudes toward these students; the project’s contribution to the instructors and the institutional functioning of the science center (SC); and their suggestions for improvement. Discussion: The project implementation, the training provided to the instructors, the interaction activities, and the role-playing exercises on appropriate behaviors positively changed the instructors’ attitudes toward students with special needs. These findings generally align with previous studies that aim to change attitudes positively through information sharing, role-playing activities, modeling appropriate behaviors, and direct or indirect interaction.