5.5.1 Section Overview
The themes discussed in this section came about in response to Research Question 4: Is there an interaction between student background and students’ interpretation of the non- formal science education program? This question was split into two key themes; pre-
existing student attitudes (sub-section 5.5.2) and family involvement and support (sub- section 5.5.3). Students who already had pre-existing positive attitudes towards science were more likely to interpret the non-formal science education programs positively and saw it as a valuable learning experience. Likewise, students with family who were
supportive of science were also more inclined to positive interpretations of the programs. One key finding that emerged however was that students’ tended to perceive science as more useful following their experiences at KIOSC irrespective of prior attitudes or family support.
5.5.2 Pre-Existing Student Attitudes
A recurring theme was how students’ background affected their response to KIOSC visits. Teachers from both schools mentioned that they had difficulty in motivating the
attendance of students who had already decided that science wasn’t for them, or who had disengaged from school entirely.
Steve (Science Specialist): Some of them are just disengaged about school anyways. So, anything you try and do with some of these kids [it] just isn't going to help.
Students with existing behavioural issues and difficulty participating in class at school were observed to have difficulty participating at KIOSC.
Jane (Non-Science): Most of them, well obviously they were quite behaved. Some of them you know the kids that tend to play up a little bit obviously weren't. But the ‘extreme kids’ as I like to call [them], it doesn't matter where you take them. They've just got it in them [and] they can't help themselves.
Teachers also felt that many of their students had a poor attitude to excursions in general, not just the programs at KIOSC.
Brian (Science Specialist): Some of our year nine and ten students’ free excursions, they still don't go. Even if they're back at school with five people they'd prefer to do that than, it doesn't matter whatever the excursion is yeah. Even if it’s free, [even if] they don't have to pay for this thing.
One teacher felt that his students had very poor awareness of the study and career pathways open to them, attributing this as characteristic of the local area.
Brian (Science Specialist): You're fighting, I think you're fighting a real history. Very few of 86
our kids go onto university pathways and that's a history of the [local] area… Our students have a really poor understanding of what options are available to them post year ten. Survey responses also revealed that students’ pre-existing attitudes towards learning science affected whether they felt their experiences at KIOSC had positively or negatively changed their perspectives on learning science. Invariably students who reported positive changes in affiliation with science, science aspirations, confidence, success expectations, interest and cost were those who already had high evaluations of science. In particular, students who already evaluated science as more interesting or easier compared to their other subjects reported highly positive changes in their interest following their visit to KIOSC. This trend was also seen in students who already felt strongly affiliated with a science identity and who were interested in further study or work involving science. Students who evaluated science poorly or who had low levels of affiliation or aspiration in science showed the reverse pattern.
Two students were notable exceptions to these patterns; in year eight from both schools there was a male student who had very positive attitudes towards science and high levels of science affiliation and aspiration but who reported no change whatsoever in their perceptions (Student codes:1.8E, 2.8G).
5.5.3 Family Involvement and Support
Overall parents seemed to have limited involvement or even awareness of their child’s experiences at KIOSC. One teacher believed that when parents didn’t understand the value of the KIOSC experience as a learning opportunity it hindered student attendance. Jim (Science Specialist): In some things we don't have that support of parents … I mean the parents probably don't have a clue about it.
According to the survey, 38% of students reported that they talked with someone at home about what they did in science class. However, when talking with students in the
interviews only a few students mentioned talking to their parents about their KIOSC visit in any depth.
Student: I told my Mum that how [sic] long it took for stuff to break down and that, like all the facts that we figured out.
In the interviews not many students described family involvement and support for science.
Student: I sometimes do like science things, sometimes my dad explains to me how the wind is like, how the clouds and stuff [work].
Parental response, as reported by the students, tended to consist of positive but vague encouragement.
Student: They said it's good that you're into it.
Some students described their parents as being interested in science or having a science related job. Again these students were in the minority.
Student: My Mum kinda is [into science] yeah, she loved experiments and doing like dissecting the bull’s heart and stuff.
In general students reported moderate to high levels of support from their parents for their education (Figure 3). 52% of students either agreed or strongly agreed that their parents expected them to go to university or TAFE. Only 12% of students disagreed with this statement completely.
Figure 3. The proportions of students with low, neutral, moderate or high Parental Study Support; students’ perception of their parents support for their general education. This variable is combined from several related survey items.
However, a much smaller proportion of students reported parental support for learning science specifically (Figure 4). Examination of the specific items comprising this variable revealed that only 31% agreed their parents thought it was important that they learned science and only 33% thought that their parents found science interesting.
Figure 4. The proportions of students with low, neutral, moderate or high Parental Science Support; students’ perception of their parents support for their science education. This variable is combined from several related survey items
Overall, students who felt well or poorly supported by their teachers and their parents in their science education tended to report positive or negative changes respectively in their interest, confidence, success expectancies in science, aspirations in science and their perception of the cost of doing science following their visits to KIOSC (Table 8). These students also tended to have either high-moderate or low levels of pre-existing affiliation and aspiration in science as well. Whether students felt that their friends were supportive of them learning science did seem to correlate with positive (or negative) changes in perceptions but this relationship did not appear as strong. More general support from students’ friends or parents for overall studying did not correspond to changes in students’ perceptions.
Table 11. Association between students’ perception changes for those students who expressed either a positive (+) or negative change (-) in their science aspirations. Highly positive or negative changes are indicated by (++) and (--) respectively. Students are ranked by the level of change in their science aspiration following their visits to KIOSC. Change in student preference for learning in out-of-school settings and class participation are not included.
Student Code Perceived Parental Science Support Perceived Teacher Support Student Science Aspiration Levels Student Science Affiliation Levels Change in Student Confidence Change in Student Success Expectations Change in Student Interest Change in Perceived Cost Change in Perceived Utility Change in Student Affiliation Change in Student Aspiration
1.7J High High High Neutral ++ + ++ No change ++ - ++
2.7L Moderate Moderate Moderate Neutral ++ ++ ++ + ++ - ++
2.8F Neutral Moderate High High ++ + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
2.8L Moderate Moderate High High No change No change ++ No change + No change ++
2.7A High High Moderate Low + + ++ + ++ No change ++
2.7F High High High Moderate ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
2.7O Neutral Moderate Moderate Moderate + ++ ++ No change ++ ++ ++
2.8B Neutral Moderate Neutral Moderate + + ++ No change ++ No change ++
1.7K Neutral Moderate Neutral Neutral ++ No change ++ + ++ - +
2.7Q High Moderate Moderate Neutral + No change ++ + ++ No change +
2.8D Neutral Moderate Neutral Neutral ++ + change No + + + +
2.7N Moderate Moderate Neutral Neutral No change No change ++ + ++ + +
2.7E Low Low Neutral Low -- - - No change No change ++ +
1.7E Low Neutral Neutral Neutral - - change No No change No change - -
1.8A Neutral Neutral Low Low No change + change No No change + No change -
1.7F Low Low Neutral Neutral + No change + No change + -- -
2.8E Low Neutral Neutral Low + - + + ++ - -
2.8H Low Moderate High Low - - - -- -
1.7I Low High Low Neutral + No change change No No change + - -
2.7D Low Very Low Moderate Low - - - + + No change -
2.7H High Moderate Neutral Neutral ++ - - No change + - -
2.7T Neutral Low Low Low No change No change - No change + -- -
2.8K Low Low Low Low No change No change - No change - -- -
1.7A Neutral Moderate Neutral Neutral - - ++ No change No change -- -
1.8D Neutral Neutral Low Low No change No change change No No change No change No change -
1.7G Neutral Moderate Moderate Neutral - - ++ No change ++ -- -