Research Article

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION

Volume: 10 Number: 1 June 29, 2026
TR EN

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the stances, justification patterns, and argumentation quality of 102 seventh-grade students at a public middle school in Turkey, on three socioscientific issues (SSI), namely artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, animal experimentation, and COVID-19 vaccination. A quantitative survey design was employed, and data were collected through researcher-developed written argumentation scenarios. Students' stances, justifications, and argumentation quality were analyzed using frequency analysis, the SEE-STEP framework, and a well-accepted five-level analytic framework, respectively. Findings indicate that stance distributions varied markedly by topic: most of students supported AI technologies and COVID-19 vaccination, yet most opposed animal experimentation. SEE-STEP analysis revealed that justification patterns were topic-sensitive, with the technology dimension dominating the AI scenario, the ethics/morality values dimension dominating the animal experimentation scenario, and the science dimension dominating the vaccination scenario. The political dimension received virtually no engagement across any topic. Argumentation quality was concentrated predominantly at Levels 1 through 3, with fewer than nine percent of students reaching Level 4 or 5 on any scenario. These findings carry significant pedagogical implications for the design of SSI-based argumentation activities in science education.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

No financial support was received for this research.

Ethical Statement

This study was approved by the Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Social and Human Sciences Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee with the decision numbered 2022/16 (Decision No: 17) at the meeting dated 07.12.2022 (Meeting No: 07).

Thanks

We would like to express our gratitude to the Ministry of National Education for providing the necessary permissions for this research, to the school administrators and teachers for their cooperation, and to all the middle school students who sincerely participated in the study for their valuable contributions.

References

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  2. Chang Rundgren, S. N., & Rundgren, C. J. (2010). SEE-SEP: From a separate to a holistic view of socioscientific issues. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 11(1), 1–24.
  3. Christenson, N., Chang Rundgren, S. N., & Hoglund, H. O. (2012). Using the SEE-SEP model to analyze upper secondary students' use of supporting reasons in arguing socioscientific issues. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 21(3), 342–352.
  4. Dawson, V., & Venville, G. (2010). Teaching strategies for developing students' argumentation skills about socioscientific issues in high school genetics. Research in Science Education, 40(2), 133–148.
  5. Driver, R., Newton, P., & Osborne, J. (2000). Establishing the norms of scientific argumentation in classrooms. Science Education, 84(3), 287–312.
  6. Erduran, S., Simon, S., & Osborne, J. (2004). TAPping into argumentation: Developments in the application of Toulmin's argument pattern for studying science discourse. Science Education, 88(6), 915–933.
  7. Eriksson, M., & Rundgren, C. J. (2012). The wolf issue: Upper secondary students' argumentation about a socio-scientific issue. Nordic Studies in Science Education, 8(1), 43–58.
  8. Eş, H., & Öztürk, N. (2021). An activity for transferring the multidimensional structure of SSI to middle school science courses: I discover myself in the decision-making process with SEE-STEP. Research in Science Education, 51, 889–910.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Science Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 29, 2026

Submission Date

June 3, 2026

Acceptance Date

June 22, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 1

APA
Genç, Z., & Yenilmez Türkoğlu, A. (2026). MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION. Scientific Educational Studies, 10(1), 46-77. https://doi.org/10.31798/ses.1963049
AMA
1.Genç Z, Yenilmez Türkoğlu A. MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION. SES. 2026;10(1):46-77. doi:10.31798/ses.1963049
Chicago
Genç, Zeynep, and Ayşe Yenilmez Türkoğlu. 2026. “MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION”. Scientific Educational Studies 10 (1): 46-77. https://doi.org/10.31798/ses.1963049.
EndNote
Genç Z, Yenilmez Türkoğlu A (June 1, 2026) MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION. Scientific Educational Studies 10 1 46–77.
IEEE
[1]Z. Genç and A. Yenilmez Türkoğlu, “MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION”, SES, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 46–77, June 2026, doi: 10.31798/ses.1963049.
ISNAD
Genç, Zeynep - Yenilmez Türkoğlu, Ayşe. “MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION”. Scientific Educational Studies 10/1 (June 1, 2026): 46-77. https://doi.org/10.31798/ses.1963049.
JAMA
1.Genç Z, Yenilmez Türkoğlu A. MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION. SES. 2026;10:46–77.
MLA
Genç, Zeynep, and Ayşe Yenilmez Türkoğlu. “MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION”. Scientific Educational Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, June 2026, pp. 46-77, doi:10.31798/ses.1963049.
Vancouver
1.Zeynep Genç, Ayşe Yenilmez Türkoğlu. MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ STANCES, JUSTIFICATIONS, AND ARGUMENTATION LEVELS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ANIMAL TESTING, AND COVID 19 VACCINATION. SES. 2026 Jun. 1;10(1):46-77. doi:10.31798/ses.1963049

Scientific Educational Studies (SES) is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

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