Studying quantum physics in upper secondary school is now a standard practice (Stadermann et al., 2019). But given the context of science education, with low recruitment numbers in higher education and poor attitudes towards science, it remains a question whether students find the learning of quantum physics relevant. In this study, we explore how…

In this article, a science interest network model (SINM) is introduced and a first empirical test of the model is presented. The SINM models interest as a dynamic relational construct, in which different interest components, that is, affective, behavioral, and cognitive components and related motivational components mutually reinforce one another…

Imagine 98% of children in your country leaving primary school without ever having done a science investigation. This almost complete absence of primary science is the situation just over the North Sea from Britain--in the Netherlands. A recent survey showed that only about 120 primary schools in the Netherlands, out of a total of 6000, do some…

In order to facilitate policy-driven reforms in science education, it is important to understand how teaching innovations diffuse among teachers and how that adoption process can be catalysed. Little is known about the set of attitudes that makes teachers early or late adopters. In this study, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (C-BAM) was employed…

International studies have shown that interest in science and technology among primary and secondary school students in Western European countries is low and seems to be decreasing. In many countries outside Europe, and especially in developing countries, interest in science and technology remains strong. As part of the large-scale European Union…

The main aim of the present study was to investigate why some students do not continue in science-oriented studies in higher education despite that their previous career in secondary education proved that they were interested and suitably qualified to do so. We introduced a new approach to deal with these students' attitudes towards science,…

This paper focuses "interest in science" as one of the attitudinal aspects of scientific literacy. Large-scale data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 are analysed in order to describe student interest more precisely. So far the analyses have provided a general indicator of interest, aggregated over all…

Carries out a study into the choice of physics in secondary education against a background of disappointing percentages of students choosing exact and technical studies and the academic choice research tradition. Focuses on the predictive value of certain characteristics of the curriculum, the differences between schools, and the stability of the…

Describes conferences to be held in Kiel, Germany, April 2-6, 1984; Utrecht, the Netherlands, August 20-25, 1984; and Brisbane, Australia, December 10-20, 1984. Includes topics to be covered and addresses for additional information. A call for papers is included with the Kiel information. (JM)