The purpose of this study was to analyze, from the perspective of power relationships, the process of constructing science knowledge among elementary school children through interactive group activities such as negotiation, reaching consensus, and manipulating tools and materials. The study began with a literature review on the assumptions which were often made in the existing literature of group interaction, emphasizing their potential meanings, and the roles and forms of power in the process of constructing science knowledge through group activities. The empirical part of the study was described next, which aimed at exploring the possible power relationships in the group activities and their influence over the acquisition of science knowledge. Finally, based on results obtained from the empirical studies, the possibility of the change of power relationships was investigated in relation to changes in the contexts within which group interactions took place. The pertinence of the above-mentioned assumption-s was also examined in this respect. The empirical studies in this work involved multiple research methods such as class observation, individual interviews, group sociogram, and class sociometry. The objects of this study consisted of three classes of the fifth grade children who were used to group discussion originally. Typically, there were six groups in each class, and 5-8 members in each group. The collection of data lasted for one semester. With results obtained from literature review, analysis of data in the forms of audio and visual tape-recording, group sociogram and class sociometry, the findings of this study were summarized as follows:
1. There are three basic assumptions which were often made in existing literature regarding science learning in groups:
a. Students'' interactive behaviors within a group involve both cognitive and social aspects, and the social aspect contains both "positive" and "negative" sides.
b. The mode of group interaction is determined by students'' personal traits, which are supposed to be static and stable.
c. The student group is considered to be analogous to the science community, but only as far as scientific rationality is concerned.
2. Results obtained from the literature review and the empirical studies indicate that power relationships do exist among students in the construction of science knowledge. Power relationships exist in various forms such as compensatory power, condign power, legitimate power, informational power, expert power, referent power, conditioned power, etc.
3. Possible influences of the power relationships over science learning among the students include: the chance to speak in discussion, whether the opinions are taken seriously or not, the result in the interpretation of evidence, the final answer proposed by the group, the learning motivations, the order and the opportunities to operate equipment and tools, etc. In addition, underprivileged students in a group have to rely on the support of privileged members in order to speak out and to get approved by other members.
4. The power relationship in a group is not unchangeable. When there is a shift of the members, the originally underprivileged could become the power holder in the same group.
Finally, based on research findings of this study, further avenues of research in the field were discussed and suggested from the perspective of multiculturalism.