Lack of Interest in School Science Among Non-Science Students at the Senior High School Level

Abstract

This study investigated the factors that contribute to the non-science students’ lack of interest in school science through the use of a 27-item questionnaire. This assisted in comparing the male and female non-science students’ lack of interest in school science. There were 259 male and female students from three senior high schools in three District Assemblies of the Ashanti Region of Ghana who participated in the study. Quantitative data were collected from the 259 students through a cross-sectional survey. The research questions were answered with mean, standard deviation, percentage, boxplot, and independent-samples t-test. The results of the study have shown that the factors that contribute to students’ lack of interest in school science include as higher demands of students’ time in learning science, less practical nature of science teaching and learning, failure of science students with larger aggregate from high school to gain admission into tertiary institutions, too broad nature of science content, lack of sponsorship for science students, school science as difficult subject compared to others, and teaching of science is a transmission of knowledge from science teachers or textbooks to students. The results of the study have further shown that there was a statistical significant difference between the mean scores of male and female non-science students’ lack of interest in school science. Science teachers are therefore encouraged to adopt strategies that could encourage students to develop and show interest in science related subjects and courses. Key words: factors; lack of interest; male and female; non-science students; school science.

Resourcefulness in Science Teaching and Learning in the Colleges of Education in Ghana: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This is because when students actively participate in the teaching and learning process of science, they are able to construct their own knowledge, acquire science process skills, learn meaningfully, retain knowledge acquired, demystify the study of science, are motivated to learn science and can use the knowledge, skills and values acquired to solve their daily problems (Abungu, Okere & Wachanga, 2014;Adu-Gyamfi, 2013;Aydogdu, 2015;Babalola, Lambourne & Swithenby, 2019;Boateng, 2014;Dah, 2020;Hofstein & Mamlok-Naaman, 2007;Miyoba & Banja, 2018) this will enable them to meet the objective of teaching science at the college of education level which is to create learner friendly environment that supports individual students as they adopt differentiated instructional approach to produce high learning outcome (Bonney, 2019;Parker, Osei-Himah, Asare & Ackah, 2018) instead of encouraging rote learning of concepts (Davidson, 2010).…”

“…Viable and child-centered approaches are needed to implement the new curriculum with the intent of promoting critical thinking and problem-solving among learners instead of encouraging rote learning (Davidson, 2010). This is because when learners get actively involved in science-based classroom activities, they are able to construct their own knowledge, acquire science process skills, learn meaningfully, retain knowledge acquired, it demystifies the study of science, are motivated to learn science and can use the knowledge, skills and values acquired to solve their daily problems (Abungu, Okere & Wachanga, 2014;Adu-Gyamfi, 2013;Aydogdu, 2015;Babalola, Lambourne & Swithenby, 2019;Boateng, 2014;Dah, 2020;Hofstein & Mamlok-Naaman, 2007;Miyoba & Banja, 2018).…”

Analisis Minat Siswa dalam Konteks Integratif: Studi Deskriptif dan Komparatif dalam Pembelajaran Biologi

“…Minat belajar siswa merupakan salah satu masalah yang sering ditemukan dalam pembelajaran, khususnya dalam pembelajaran sains (Adu-Gyamfi, 2013). Minat merupakan salah satu variabel penting dari motivasi belajar (Renninger & Hidi, 2011).…”

Predictors of Student Engagement in Science Learning: The Role of Science Laboratory Learning Environment and Science Learning Motivation

“…The findings of the study are beneficial to the MOE, curricular designers as well as science educators. The MOE may take the duration of science lessons for non-science students into consideration, as it seems like it might be a factor inhibiting the laboratory work conducted in schools (Adu-Gyamfi, 2013). The science curriculum should place more emphasis on the science laboratory work since it provides a more student-centred environment than the conventional teaching style, which enhances student engagement.…”

“…Evidently, Malaysian students prefer to enrol in nonscience stream more and less engage in learning science. Previous research has also revealed a lack of interest in science among non-science students (Adu-Gyamfi, 2013). As nonscience students constitute the majority of students, the study of engagement in science learning among these students is valuable and critical to our science education purposes.…”