Measuring university entrants' previous practical experience: How valid are students' self-reports?

ABSTRACT This methodological paper focusses on the measurement of experience with science practical work of students entering university. Two measures of practical experience i.e., perceived and received are presented. Perceived practical experience uses students' self-reported levels of exposure to experimental work while remembered practical experience is established through the extent to which students are able to name and describe the use of standard laboratory apparatus. The paper explores the validity of measuring practical experience through students' self-reports, by establishing statistically the association between their perceived and remembered practical experience. The effect of gender is investigated. The findings show that the two measures describe the same variable, i.e. level of practical experience, and that a significant association exists between the two measures for individual students. Women show a significantly lower level of remembered practical experience, although their perception of involvement in laboratory work is similar to that of men. Implications of the findings are discussed.