MALAYSIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS BIOTECHNOLOGY

The purpose of this research is to investigate secondary students' knowledge and attitude towards biotechnology and its application. A questionnaire was administered to 214 (16 years old) students who are either taking Biology or General Science. The questionnaire contained 15 items measuring students' knowledge and also 28 items measuring students' attitude towards biotechnology. The students' level of knowledge is high but limited only to medical issues. Students showed positive attitude towards biotechnology applications that are related to medical and economic purposes. However, students are unaware of ethical issues related to biotechnology applications. The t-test showed that there was no significant difference of students' knowledge of biotechnology in terms of gender. However, there was a significant difference in terms of students' attitude towards biotechnology between Biology and General Science students. These findings serve as initial input of Malaysian secondary students' knowledge and attitudes towards biotechnology and its application.