Students' decision-making on issues of sustainability - beyond rational choice theory:J. Lavonen, K. Juuti, J. Lampiselkä, A. Uitto & K. Hahl (eds.), Science Education Research: Engaging Learners for a Sustainable Future (Proceedings of ESERA 2015)
Students’ judgment and decision-making is an important aspect of scientific literacy and a major curricular objective in science teaching. Hence, it is widely explored in science education research. Most research done in this field, especially inGermany, builds upon the assumption that rational choice theory (RCT) adequately describes students’ decision-making. In contrast results from psychological research (e.g. Haidt, 2001) indicate how intuitions and emotions essentially affect a person’s judgment and decision-making. Moreover, from a sociological perspective (e.g. Bourdieu, 1983) a person’s habitus determines his/her perception, judgments and actions. Both theoretical strands contradict RCT, but are barely reflected in current science education researchabout students’ judgment and decision-making. Thisstudy avoids making any strong assumptions about the rationality of students. Students’ perspectives on socio-scientific issues with special focus on sustainability were explored. A qualitativeapproach based on documentary method was chosen to explore the tacit dimensions of students’ judgment and decision-making. Focused, semi-structured interviews with a heterogeneous sample of 29German high-school students were conducted. In the beginning of each interview short dilemma-like audio-vignettes were presented. They demonstrate complex and undecided issues concerning sustainability. Data analysis was based on documentary method, which allows for a reconstruction of students’so calledorientations. From the theoretical perspective of documentary method orientations are a part of the tacit and atheoretical knowledge, which is structuring students’ judgmentand decision-making. Here we present a choice of results, in particular acase study of a single student as well as a comprehensive typology of orientationsbased on the whole sample. Based on these results, the interdependence of any specific SSI and students’ ways of dealing with them is briefly discussed. Our results strongly confirm the assumption that RCT is a limitedframework for describing and analyzing how students are making judgments and decisionson sustainability issues.