The Key Factors Affecting Students' Individual Interest in School Science Lessons

Autor/in	Cheung, Derek
Titel	The Key Factors Affecting Students' Individual Interest in School Science Lessons
Quelle	In: International Journal of Science Education, 40 (2018) 1, S.1-23 (23 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0950-0693
DOI	10.1080/09500693.2017.1362711
Schlagwörter	Student Attitudes; Science Instruction; Self Concept; Parent Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes; Observation; Secondary School Teachers; Student Interests; Junior High School Students; Foreign Countries; Structural Equation Models; Mixed Methods Research; Semi Structured Interviews; Questionnaires; Factor Analysis; Hong Kong + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schülerverhalten; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Selbstkonzept; Elternverhalten; Lehrerverhalten; Beobachtung; Studieninteresse; Junior High Schools; Student; Students; Sekundarstufe I; Schüler; Schülerin; Ausland; Fragebogen; Faktorenanalyse; Hongkong
Abstract	Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The present study aimed to address this gap, using a mixed methods design. Qualitative interview data were collected from 60 Hong Kong junior secondary school students, who were asked to describe the nature of their interest in science lessons and the factors to which they attribute this. Teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations were conducted to triangulate student interview data. Five factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons were identified: situational influences in science lessons, individual interest in science, science self-concept, grade level, and gender. Quantitative data were then collected from 591 students using a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to test a hypothesised model, which provided an acceptable fit to the student data. The strongest factor affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons was science self-concept, followed by individual interest in science and situational influences in science lessons. Grade level and gender were found to be nonsignificant factors. These findings suggest that teachers should pay special attention to the association between academic self-concept and interest if they want to motivate students to learn science at school. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01