Students' attitudes to science from primary to secondary

Abstract

Science is very important in the modem world we live in and so one must ensure that all the students receive a proper science education in their early stages of educational growth. Over the years, it can be noticed that only a small proportion of students decide to continue to study sciences for higher education. This may result from various factors. The aim of this dissertation is to study the students' attitudes from the primary to the secondary level of education and find out which are those factors which are contributing to the success or failure of our science educational system. Questionnaires were developed to find out the children's attitudes towards the different factors, including: school culture, teachers, textbooks, examinations, media influences, students' gender, difficulty of the subject and students' own expectations. Interviews were also carried out to obtain a closer look at individual personal attitudes. Results show that positive attitudes towards science decline from the primary to the secondary level of education with the boys' positive attitudes declining earlier that of girls' and with a higher frequency. Students' gender, teacher's gender and schools resulted as being crucial factors in attitude formation and change. The study reveals the importance of students' attitudes for successful planning in the teaching of science.