The perceptions of Cypriot Secondary and Technical and vocational education students about simple electric circuits

Abstract

The purpose of this study was the assessment and evaluation of Cypriot Secondary Technical and Vocational Education Students' perceptions about simple electric circuits and their comparison with the corresponding perceptions of students that were found in similar researches. The research sample constituted of 73 students from the A' Technical School of Limassol, Cyprus. Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) 1.2, translated and adopted in Greek language by the researcher, was used as a research instrument. The comparison of the results with their bibliography equivalents indicate that these perceptions are harmonised to a great extent with the perceptions of students from other countries and previous years, a fact that proves their universality and diachronicity. The observed divergences are mainly owed in the erroneous way that students receive information related with electric phenomena from their social environment, a fact that makes students develop erroneous perceptions persistent to teaching.