Students’ interest towards single science items

To find out in which items students’ are interested the most and the least (table 2.4., appendix 2), student responses to the Likert type scale questionnaire were divided into three interest levels:

• high interest (mean >3)

• average interest (2< mean <3) and

• low interest (mean <2)

Figure 1 shows that girls are highly interested in all items, which are connected with human physical nature (body, health, sexuality, diseases, etc) and in exceptional phenomena (dreaming, witches and ghosts, thought transference, mind-reading, sixth sense, intuition, etc.) which by and large are linked with mental, not scientific explanations of the nature of human beings.

For boys, the most interesting topics relate to technological problems (computers, the use of lasers) and risk or danger-considered issues (atom bomb, explosive chemicals, meteors and comets etc) (Figure 2).

Figure 1. The most interesting topics for grade nine girls comparing with boys A40. How to exercise to keep the body fit and strong, C13.Why we dream while we are sleeping, and what the dreams may mean, A37. What to eat to keep healthy and fit, A34.How it feels to be weightless in space, E42. Phenomena that scientists still cannot explain, E10.How to perform first-aid and use basic medical equipment, E11.What we know about HIV/AIDS and how to control it, C15.Thought transference, mind-reading, sixth sense, intuition, etc., E9.Sexually transmitted diseases and how to be protected against them, A42.How radiation from solariums and the sun might affect the skin, E13.How different narcotics might affect the body, A39.The ability of lotions and creams to keep the skin young, C14.Ghosts and witches, and whether they may exist, A23.How meteors, comets or asteroids may cause disasters on earth, C11.Life and death and the human soul, E8.Cancer, what we know and how we can treat it, A38.Eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, E12.How alcohol and tobacco might affect the body.

The most interesting topics for grade nine girls

1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

A40. C13. A37. A34. E42. E10. E11. C15. E9. A42. E13. A39. C14. A23. C11. E8. A38. E12.

Items

Mean score

Girls Boys

Figure 1 and 2 indicates that items A23, A34 and E42 are interesting both for boys and girls – these items go beyond traditional school science and are heavily related to the modern technological world and expectation with the life in space.

topics (A15, A17, E1, E19).

Figure 2. The most interesting topics for grade nine boys comparing with girls A34. How it feels to be weightless in space, A30.How the atom bomb functions, A31.Explosive chemicals, A9. Sex and reproduction, C7.How computers work, A32.Biological and chemical weapons and what they do to the human body, E42.Phenomena that scientists still cannot explain, A33.The effect of strong electric shocks and lightning on the human body, A23.How meteors, comets or asteroids may cause disasters on earth, A44.Rockets, satellites and space travel, C3.The use of lasers for technical purposes (CD-players, bar-code readers, etc.), C8.The possibility of life outside earth.

Figure 3 indicates that girls have low interest mostly towards technological items that are related to applications of knowledge (the working of petrol and diesel engines, crude oil converting) and towards traditional school subject items (inside of the earth, chemicals, atoms and molecules, electricity etc). At the same time, boys show the lowest interest towards human study (eating disorders, plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery, lotions and creams, babies growth and mature) (Figure 4).

The mean values for items differ between boys and girls and emphasise the need for considering gender differences in the teaching of science.

The most interesting topics for grade nine boys

1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

A34. A30. A31. A9. C7. A32. E42. A33. A23. A44. C3. C8.

Items

Mean score

Girls Boys

Figure 3. The most uninteresting topics for grade nine girls

E34. Why religion and science sometimes are in conflict, C5.How things like radios and televisions work, E36.Why scientists sometimes disagree, A3.The inside of the earth, A2.Chemicals, their properties and how they react, C2.Optical instruments and how they work (telescope, camera, microscope, etc.), E28.How to use and repair everyday electrical and mechanical equipment, A15.How plants grow and reproduce, E19.Organic and ecological farming without use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, E27.Electricity, how it is produced and used in the home, E33.Benefits and possible hazards of modern methods of farming, A48.How a nuclear power plant functions, E37.Famous scientists and their lives, A17.Atoms and molecules, E1.Symmetries and patterns in leaves and flowers, A47.How petrol and diesel engines work, C1.How crude oil is converted to other materials, like plastics and textiles.

Figure 4. The most uninteresting topics for grade nine boys comparing with girls The least interesting topics for grade nine girls

1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

E34. C5. E36. A3. A2. C2. E28. A15. E19. E27. E33. A48. E37. A17. E1. A47. C1.

Items

Mean score Girls

Boys

The least interesting topics for grade nine boys

1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

A5. A11. A17. C1. A42. E36. E19. E39. E2. E34. E37. A38. A39. A15. A41. E26. E1.

Items

Mean score

Girls Boys

A5. Clouds, rain and the weather, A11.How babies grow and mature, A17.Atoms and molecules, C1.How crude oil is converted to other materials, like plastics and textiles, A42.How radiation from solariums and the sun might affect the skin, E36.Why scientists sometimes disagree, E19.Organic and ecological farming without use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers, E39.How scientific ideas sometimes challenge religion, authority and tradition, E2.How the sunset colours the sky, E34.Why religion and science sometimes are in conflict, E37.Famous scientists and their lives, A38.Eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, A39.The ability of lotions and creams to keep the skin young, A15.How plants grow and reproduce, A41.Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery, E26.Detergents, soaps and how they work, E1.Symmetries and patterns in leaves and flowers.