High-end research competitions and academic-based competitions are mainly designed for students who are in grades 9-11 (15-17 years) and those who want to venture into something extra with no academic strings attached (McBurney, 1978; Smith, 1985). The competitions provide a platform where students are able to show their „sciencing‟ in subjects into which they have conducted an active investigation (McBurney, 1978). It has been said that in science fairs, students should be able to conceive and plan a project, perform an investigation and analyse data to arrive at some conclusions or understanding (Smith, 1980). They offer an opportunity for students to go beyond the planned science curriculum to pursue individual interests and talents. Consequently, they open up the opportunity for examining practical problems using hands-on/minds-on activities that link science with other facets of the curriculum (Balas, 1998).
Carrying out experimental science projects requires the students to practise the science processing skills which they have been taught in class. Therefore, the more realistic the problems they identify, the more exciting the solution and the greater the adventure they will experience along the way (McBurney, 1978). In view of that, participation allows students to further develop their science content knowledge, processing skills and science interests (Mann, 1984; Grote, 1995). Eventually, if the students successfully follow appropriate scientific methods while investigating and experimenting, it will help them in understanding related science concepts (Bellipanni & Lily, 1999). This is closely aligned to the primary objectives of science projects, which are to teach students to think (Tant, 1992), and to help them to organize and to make decisions on important information gathered (Recht & Leslie, 1988; as stated in Bruning et al., 1995). They provide students with another learning platform on topics of their personal interest, letting them demonstrate both factual knowledge in written reports and procedural knowledge through the research process (Bruning et al., 1995). Furthermore, they enable students to generate, analyse and assess the impact of the findings, as well as to connect
what they have learned to experiences beyond their science project (Balas, 1998).
According to Grote (1995), science projects teach students about scientific methods and promote their interest in science. A longitudinal study by Oslon in 1985 indicated that participation in science fairs should encourage others as it benefits the interested students by providing them with the opportunity to travel, increasing their poise, self-confidence and communication skills, earning them respect from their peers and developing their research and experimental design skills (Olson, 1985). Unfortunately, that study did not elaborate on the specific experimental skills observed. McBurney (1978) commented that making students‟ participation in science fairs compulsory is equal to forcing them into the use of intellectual skills that may not have yet been properly developed. With their determination to win and impress the judges, students have undertaken new outstanding projects which are often beyond school levels in order to compete in the fairs. Quite often, students‟ projects reflect the work of their parents or their parents‟ friends rather than the work of the students themselves (Grobman, 1993). A study by Abernathy and Vineyard (2001) noted that students‟ motivation was driven by the urge to please their teachers‟ expectations rather than by other factors.
Reviews of the achievement of the programmes from the point of view of the organisers, especially the Ministry of Education and the programme co- sponsors, have not been gathered in any of the existing research. Because these people are responsible for running the competitions, understanding their motives, achievements, views and hopes is essential. This is due to their social role in the community and the realisation of the national aspiration.
Currently, the existing literature has concentrated mostly on the after- competition impact on the participants. This covers the students‟/ participants‟ opinions on various areas such as awards, motivations and satisfaction with the programmes. Data have also been gathered from teachers on their students‟ performance during the competitions and on the overall programme, and on their thoughts regarding the impact of the programmes on students‟
scientific skills. Then again, there are several areas that are still under- researched; students‟ perspectives on the challenges which they encountered before and during the competitions, their satisfaction with the overall programme, the skills and knowledge which they developed in certain areas, the lessons learned by participation, their passion for science and its effect to attitudes to science (Figure 2). Their views are important in evaluating the success and the potential for improvement of the competitions. In summary, greater understanding as outlined above will give broad-brush information on science research based competitions in respect of students‟ responses to science.
The main reasons for organising the competitions need to be addressed and revised in order to evaluate the effectiveness and success rate, especially in the context of the development of education. Agencies which support the programme need to be addressed and acknowledged. Effort put up by the mentors (teachers) is significant in influencing the success of projects made each year. These factors would give primary information on the significance of the events to students in general. Therefore, their views on the competitions and on the behaviour changes which the competitions require are essential. This knowledge will contribute to maximising the success of the programme in the future.
A study by Schneider et al. in 1996 collected teachers‟ views on their perspectives of their students‟ science projects. They were asked questions based on seven educational goals for science education: exploration of a real- world issue, hands-on/minds-on, scientific knowledge, higher-order thinking, habits of mind, integration and social skills. From their findings, the researchers suggested that a science project is an important part of science education. It is regarded to be an effective way of addressing the new educational goals for science, of incorporating hands-on/minds-on science with the goal of scientific knowledge, and it allows students to use scientific inquiry and higher-order thinking skills through the exploration of real-world issues (Schneider et al., 1996). That study concluded that students‟ science projects are complementary to their science learning experience.
In 1985, Campbell summarised the skills developed by the winners of Intel Talent Search in the US as attitudes and orientations, time management, research (library) skills, scientific and advance reading, organization skills especially in managing a project in a given time-frame, and discipline in conducting scholarly research studies. According to Campbell, by mastering these skills, participants not only relish a challenge but will also benefit in their future undertakings. It is therefore true to say that there are no „losers‟ in competitions of this type as everyone will gain additional skills simply by participating (Campbell et al. (2000). Evaluations of the skills gained have been made in various ways. For example, Parker and Gerber (2002) devised a performance-based assessment to evaluate the knowledge and skills of a group of students during their participation in a science projects competition. In the study, the students‟ projects were ranked as „outstanding‟ and „high quality‟ for each individual and for the group category. Unfortunately, this result cannot be generalized because of the limited size of the sample.
There are recurring issues with the competitions, especially with the judging (Abernathy et al., 2001; Grote, 1995; Grobman, 1993; Cerlisle & Deeder, 1989). Studies by Grote (1995) found that 53% of the respondents believed that science fair judges should be trained or professionally qualified. Poor- quality judging will definitely produce bias and unfair results and will have a negative effect on the participants and also on the science institution. Judges‟ perspectives on the projects, and students‟ science attainment and attitudes towards science, have yet to be gathered in order to fine-tune both the expectation and the actual achievement acquired by the participants.
Nevertheless, all the current studies in this area have merely been collected in the form of general opinions from parents and teachers without being supported by measured data and findings, especially on the skills developed. More measurement of the claims needs to be carried out in order to assess the types of skill developed in the types of competition organised.
Bearing in mind these identified gaps in the previous research, this current study was designed in a way which will incorporate the three main sources of data (participants, mentors and organisers) from fully identified backgrounds on various aspects of the competitions at the beginning of, during and after the competitions. This will allow a better understanding of SRBCs and the potential and the diversity of the challenges encountered, particularly by incorporating the hands-on/minds-on experience to students‟ attitudes towards science as mapped in Figure 2.