Abstract
A sample of 780 seventh year students in 31 different classes in Melbourne provided information about preferences for four different sources of scientific information, namely experiments, experts, books and teachers. It was found that student attitudes were most favourable towards experiments, next most favourable towards experts, next towards books, and least favourable towards teachers. Also significant declines occurred over a school year in attitude towards books and teachers. When a curriculum materials variable and several student characteristics were controlled, significant relationships emerged between teacher sex and student changes in attitude towards books, teacher experience and student changes in attitude towards teachers, and teacher attitude to curriculum materials structure and student changes in attitude to experts.