PUPILS´ ATTITUDES TOWARDS NATURAL SCIENCES AND THE DECISION-mAKINg PROCESS WHEN SELECTINg A FIELD OF STUDy AT UNIVERSITy
Journal Title: Problems of Education in the 21st Century - Year 2008, Vol 6, Issue 5
Abstract
The text yields the results of research which was concentrated on the perception of natural sciences by pupils of basic schools and students at secondary schools in one of the regions of the Czech Republic. The frst part of the research focused on basic school pupils’ and secondary school students’ attitudes towards natural sciences, while the second focused on the understanding of social reality by students of grammar schools who are in the process of selecting their future felds of study at universities. We addressed the issue of how they take decisions and the factors that influence the decision-making process. To identify basic school pupils’ and secondary school students’ attitudes we utilized the statistics-quantitative method. In the second phase we built on the previous fndings and utilized the quantitative method (focus group). The quantitative part of the research demonstrated that pupils consider natural sciences interesting but very challenging. Having taken into account the risks involved when studying natural sciences, most of them rated natural sciences positively. Also, the interest to study nat. sciences is not negligible, however, the occupation of a scientist is little attractive. The interpretation of social participants in science, stereotyping and popularization, the differentiation of three kinds of science – they all have an impact on the decision-making process whose result is university studies. The so-called “school science” influences the decision to study general science. Popularization should aim to bridge the enormous gap between the reality of a scientist and the reality of everyday life. School is the place where the popularization of general science ought to begin. School science should present not only the results of scientifc research but also scientists with regard to their everyday life. In pupils’ eyes the most important people popularizing science are the teacher and the scientist. It is their approach to science that determines how they present and make science look attractive. The popularization of science should become more systematic and a part of curriculum. It should also be included in the university study programme of future teachers. Pupils need to gain awareness of how they can apply such skills in real/professional life.
Authors and Affiliations
Daniel Topinka, Juraj Ševčík, Michal Smolka
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP34545
- DOI -
- Views 349
- Downloads 0
MENTAL ARITHMETIC SKILLS: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH BASED ON ESTONIAN AND FINNISH PUPILS
Estonian pupils achieved good results in international tests like TIMSS and PISA (IEA’s TIMSS 2003 International Report on Achievement in the Mathematics Cognitive Domains, 2005; Assessing Scientifc, Reading and Mathem...
EFFECT OF TRACK POSITION ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS SCIENCE
Attitude towards science (ATS) is major concern in science education due to its positive correlation with students’ science achievement. However, previous studies showed that students’ ATS is decreasing in many countri...
BRANCH DIDACTICS AND ITS PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPEMENT WITHIN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The article deals with branch didactics (subject methodology) current issues related to its gradual establishment within the felds of scientifc disciplines. Branch didactics is analyzed with reference to its variable as...
CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND LITERACY PRACTICES OF YOUNG PEOPLE, ADULTS AND SENIORS IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON: CONTRIBUTIONS TO AN EPISTEMOLOGY OF THE SOUTH
In this article we discuss the cultural knowledge and educational practices of young people, adults and seniors linked to literacy classes of a Popular Education center at a public university in the Brazilian Amazon. The...
SOCIAL-ACADEMIC CLIMATE AND ACADEMIC SATISFACTION IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN EDUCATION
The social climate created in the classroom has been recognized to have important implications for learning. This study was motivated by the explore how design students in the design studio compared to other other archit...