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Attitudes and Motivation
The national monitoring programme recognises the impact of attitudinal
and motivational factors on student achievement in individual assessment
tasks. Students’ attitudes, interests and liking for a subject
have a strong bearing on progress and learning outcomes. Students are
influenced and shaped by the quality and style of curriculum delivery,
the choice of content and the suitability of resources. Other important
factors influencing students’ achievements are the expectations
and support of significant people in their lives, the opportunities
and experiences they have in and out of school, and the extent to which
they have feelings of personal success and capability.
Science Surveys
The national monitoring science surveys sought information from students
about their curriculum preferences and their perceptions of their achievement
and potential in science. Students were also asked about their involvement
in science related activities within school and beyond. There are numerous
research questions that could be asked when investigating student attitudes
and engagement. In national monitoring it has been necessary to focus
on a few key questions that give an overall impression of how students
regard science in relation to themselves.
Each survey was administered in a session which included team and independent
tasks, with a teacher reading the survey to year 4 students, and available
to help with writing. The surveys included 16 questions that could be
responded to by ticking or circling a chosen response. Responses to
these 16 questions are summarised in the large tables on the next two
pages. Two questions required written responses, which are summarised
below.
Students were asked to indicate their first three preferences from a
list of six class science activities. The percentages choosing each
activity as first preference and as one of the top three preferences
are tabulated below.
Two activities (“doing things like experiments” and “going
on field trips”) were strong first preferences at both year levels,
with year 4 regarding both similarly and year 8 strongly favouring experiments.
When the top three preferences were considered, it became clear that
“being shown about science” was also a valued activity,
with the other three activities well behind.
One
open-ended question was asked. Responses to the question “What
do you like doing most in science in your own time” were coded
into three categories. Easily the most popular category was “doing
experiments” (41% of year 4 students and 53% of year 8 students).
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Drawing about 17 percent support at year 4 but only seven percent
at year 8 levels were reading/viewing/listening/writing activities
related to science. The third category involved applied science
or technology – such things as making a radio, building creations,
or cooking). This category involved 15 percent of year 4 students
and 18 percent of year 8 students. |
SCIENCE
ACTIVITIES :
|
1st
CHOICE |
TOP 3 |
|
|
%
responses |
%
responses |
y4 |
y8 |
y4 |
y8 |
being
told about science |
8 |
5 |
26 |
18 |
being
shown about science |
13 |
10 |
58 |
68 |
reading
about science |
7 |
3 |
34 |
14 |
talking
about science |
5 |
1 |
26 |
20 |
going
on field trips |
28 |
30 |
68 |
71 |
doing
things like experiments |
32 |
44 |
62 |
81 |
|
|
Year
4 – SCIENCE Survey Responses |
%
responses 2003 (1999) |
| |
|
|
|
|
1.
How much do you like doing science at school?
|
62
(67) |
29
(24) |
5 (7) |
4
(2) |
| |
heaps |
quite
a lot |
some
|
very
little |
2.
How much do you think you learn about science at school?
|
25
(28) |
37 (41) |
27
(23) |
11
(8) |
| |
more |
about
same |
less |
|
3.
Would you like to do more or less science at school?
|
56
(58) |
34
(34) |
10
(8) |
|
| |
heaps |
quite
a lot |
sometimes
|
never |
4.
How often does your class do really good things in science?
|
12
(16) |
27
(27) |
55
(52) |
6
(5) |
| |
|
|
|
|
5.
How often do you do these things in science at school?
|
|
|
|
|
| a.
Field trips/work outside |
13
(19) |
21
(20) |
58
(52) |
8
(9) |
b.
Visit science activities |
8 (10) |
12 (12) |
52
(54) |
28
(24) |
| c.
Research/projects |
23
(24) |
37 (31) |
32
(36) |
8 (9) |
d.
Group work |
38 (39) |
36
(36) |
23
(24) |
3 (1) |
| e.
Experiments with everyday things |
14 (17) |
19 (16) |
48
(51) |
19
(16) |
f
. Experiments with science equipment |
16 (15) |
16
(20) |
44 (44) |
24
(21) |
| g.
Science competitions |
8 (8) |
6 (7) |
29
(31) |
57
(54) |
| |
|
|
|
|
6.
How good do you think you are at science?
[excluding 15% who said “Don’t Know”]
|
32
(37) |
50
(48) |
14
(9) |
4
(6) |
| |
heaps
|
quite
a lot |
sometimes
|
never |
7.
How much do you like doing science things in your own time, when
you’re not at school?
|
42
(24) |
29
(19) |
19 (38) |
10
(19) |
| |
|
|
|
|
8.
Do you do some really good things in science in your own time —
when you’re not at school?
|
17
(15) |
22
(21) |
43
(45) |
18
(19) |
| |
yes |
maybe
|
no |
|
9.
Do you want to keep learning about science when you grow up?
|
46
(43) |
47 (47) |
7
(10) |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
10.
Do you think you would make a good scientist when you grow up?
|
24
(28) |
58 (52) |
18
(20) |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 Year
4 students were generally very positive about doing science at school.
A majority chose the highest rating for the first question (about liking
to do science at school) and would like to do more science at school.
Almost half wanted to keep learning about science when they grew up, and
about a quarter thought they would make good scientists when they grew
up. The year 4 students were less confident that they learned a lot of
science at school, with about one quarter saying that they learned “heaps”
and only 12 percent saying that their class did really good things in
science “heaps”. The proportions liking to do science things
in their own time or saying that they did really good science things in
their own time were quite disappointing: less than half used the descriptors
“heaps” or “quite a lot”, and 18 percent said
“never”. The responses to question 5 suggest that much science
in school is book work, with practical work, field trips, visits and experiments
less common. There was a small but perceptible downward trend between
1999 and 2003 on most items involving science at school, suggesting that
both the quantity and attractiveness of science activities may have declined
a little over that period. On the other hand, there was a big increase
in the attractiveness of doing science things in their own time (perhaps
in compensation).
|
Year
8 – SCIENCE Survey Responses |
%
responses 2003 (1999) |
| |
|
|
|
|
1.
How much do you like doing science at school?
|
32
(37) |
51
(48) |
13
(12) |
4
(3) |
|
heaps |
quite
a lot |
some
|
very
little |
2.
How much do you think you learn about science at school?
|
13
(15) |
44
(44) |
37
(35) |
6 (6) |
| |
more |
about
same |
less |
|
3.
Would you like to do more or less science at school?
|
32
(39) |
54
(51) |
14
(10) |
|
| |
heaps |
quite
a lot |
sometimes
|
never |
4.
How often does your class do really good things in science?
|
3
(7) |
23
(22) |
64
(63) |
10
(8) |
| |
|
|
|
|
5.
How often do you do these things in science at school?
|
|
|
|
|
| a.
Field trips/work outside |
2
(4) |
12
(13) |
57
(50) |
29 (33) |
b.
Visit science activities |
2
(3) |
9
(9) |
55
(53) |
34
(35) |
| c.
Research/projects |
18
(21) |
43
(40) |
35
(36) |
4
(3) |
d.
Group work |
30
(31) |
41
(40) |
25 (27) |
4
(2) |
| e.
Experiments with everyday things |
8 (14) |
29
(47) |
50
(28) |
13
(11) |
f
. Experiments with science equipment |
9
(14) |
25
(25) |
50 (43) |
16
(18) |
| g.
Science competitions |
4
(4) |
12 (10) |
50
(56) |
34
(30) |
| |
|
|
|
|
6.
How good do you think you are at science?
[excluding 14% who said “Don’t Know”]
|
17
(16) |
60 (61) |
19
(19) |
4
(4) |
| |
heaps
|
quite
a lot |
sometimes
|
never |
7.
How much do you like doing science things in your own time, when
you’re not at school?
|
14
(15) |
30
(31) |
40
(39) |
16
(15) |
| |
|
|
|
|
8.
Do you do some really good things in science in your own time —
when you’re not at school?
|
3
(5) |
11
(15) |
58 (52) |
28
(28) |
| |
yes |
maybe
|
no |
|
9.
Do you want to keep learning about science when you grow up?
|
31
(33) |
58
(59) |
11
(8) |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
10.
Do you think you would make a good scientist when you grow up?
|
9
(9) |
48
(46) |
43
(45) |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 Compared
to year 4 students, year 8 students were less inclined to use the most
positive categories. This pattern has been common in national monitoring
surveys. Older students can be expected to be more discerning and critical,
as well as more realistic about their own abilities. It is a concern that
only 26 percent of the year 8 students indicated that their class did
really good things in science “heaps” or “quite a lot”.
Only about one third of the year 8 students reported the use of experiments
in science at school more than “sometimes”, with group work
and projects dominating their experience of science. Changes between 1999
and 2003 were generally small, but there was a noticeable decline in the
proportions of highly positive responses for questions 1, 3 and most categories
of question 5 (especially the more exciting ones, such as experiments).
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