• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.453-463
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• 2008

This study investigated the students' perceptions of environmental scientists and their work and the factors influencing the students' images of them by using the Draw-An-Environmental-Scientist-Test (DAEST). The DAEST was administered to 413 students in 10th and 11th grades selected from three high schools in Seoul. The results revealed that the students' images of environmental scientists were different from the stereotypical images of scientists. In the students' drawings, it was difficult to distinguish the gender and age of environmental scientists. Most students also perceived environmental scientists collecting data on environmental pollution by using experimental equipments and a laptop computer in the field. The students answered that the factors affecting their images of environmental scientists were mass media, school education, internet, and so on. According to the students' grade and gender, there were differences in the perceptions of environmental scientists and their work, and there were factors that influenced their images. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.