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PUBLICATION INFORMATION

TITLE OF PUBLICATION
DECLINE OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS STUDENTS´ SCIENCE: A DISTURBING INDICATOR FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION.
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Ángel Vázquez y Maria Antonia Manassero.
NAME OF PUBLISHER
Revista Eureka sobre Enseñanza y Divulgación de las Ciencias.
YEAR OF PUBLICATION
2008
LANGUAGE OF PUBLICATION
Spanish
PUBLICATION TYPOLOGY
Research
TARGET GROUP OF PUBLICATION
Researchers, Teachers
SIZE OF THE PUBLICATION
Over 10 pages
DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
The present article analyses one of the most important problems that the teaching of science faces in Europe. This problem is the increasing lack of interest towards science subjects in school. According to several authors, this lack of interest mainly takes place at the end of the primary schooling and it increases progressively with the age, especially in the case of girls.
The aim of the study presented herein is to perform an empirical analysis of the different hypothesis regarding the decline of attitudes towards science as students become older. The behavioural attitudes studied embrace a set of variables regarding the image of science, the environment preservation and several aspects of school science which have been analysed in a sample of students of different ages, starting from the forth grade of primary school.
The study of the temporary evolution of the student’s answers reveals a global decrease of attitudes towards science related to the age and genre: in the first years these attitudes tend to be more positive and they decrease as the students become older, we observe a better attitude in boys than in girls. This decline is directly related to some aspects of school science, while the general aspects regarding the image of science and technology or the environment preservation do not show any decline.
The present article also discusses the limitations of the statistic study carried out, proposing specific improvements. Among the implications developed from this study the most significant is, according to the authors, the decrease of pupils who choose scientific degrees.
Finally, the authors find a possible solution in showing behavioural and emotional aspects in the science class, together with a significant change in the way of teaching science in the school. The objective of science teaching must be focussed on the generation of curiosity and motivation through a curriculum and a set of educational activities interesting for the pupils and relevant for our society.
REVIEWER’S COMMENTS ON THE PUBLICATION
The relevance of the present document lies in the fact it deals with one of main problems of the science teaching that Spain and Europe are facing nowadays. Moreover, it is an empirical study on the attitudes of our pupils towards science and the evolution and variations they suffer according to the age and sex.

The analysis of the results obtained is crucial, since they are quite significant regardless the limitations of the study. The authors conclude that the moment in which the pupils start showing their lack of interest towards science seems to be at the beginning of the secondary schooling, which is a helpful data to define the problem.

Since it seems proved that the attitudinal decline is responsible for the separation of the students from science and technology, the article analyses several solutions proposed by different authors based on emotional aspects as well as on the general opinion that the curiosity generation, the learning motivation and a relevant curriculum should set the path to improve the attitude of our pupils towards science.
PDF OF THE PUBLICATION
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
CECE – Spanish Confederation of Education and Training Centre

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2014.10.13

Posted by C. Collante (Spain)

Message: The document shows aspects of Sciences teachers that can be really useful for Secondary teachers in the current context. Statements included in the document are really useful for teachers and can be applied to other countries different from Spain, because they talk about a global problem: that the teaching of science faces in Europe is the increasing lack of interest towards science subjects in school. According to several authors, this lack of interest mainly takes place at the end of the primary schooling and it increases progressively with the age, especially in the case of girls. In the document, authors make an empirical analysis of the different hypothesis regarding the decline of attitudes towards science as students become older, and also discusses the limitations of the statistic study carried out, proposing specific improvements. In the conclusions, we can find that authors suggest take into account some emotional factors in the classroom. The role of teachers in education is essential for students´ motivation and it can help to improve students’ motivation.

National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

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