A qualitative study Student and laboratory practice: a qualitative study

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative educational case study on the experiences and meanings students attribute to laboratory practices in basic sciences and how these shape scientific understanding. It examines the gap between the laboratory’s potential to connect theory and evidence and the frequent tendency to reduce it to following instructions and completing the report. Data were collected exclusively through individual semi-structured interviews, using purposeful sampling and maximum variation. Transcripts were examined through thematic analysis and a decision log to ensure analytic traceability. Four themes emerged: the lab as compliance, as technique, as verification, and as thinking with evidence. The first two favor instrumental learning and weak theory–data links; the third reinforces the search for the “correct” value and limits discussion of uncertainty; the fourth promotes argumentation, databased justification, and causal explanations. The discussion suggests aligning purpose, tasks, and assessment, incorporating instructor questioning and criteria that value decisions, interpretation, and the limits of procedures. It concludes that the laboratory’s impact depends on students’ constructed meanings and on the didactic conditions that activate them. As a limitation, the study relies on self-reports; longitudinal and comparative research across multiple courses and universities is recommended.