Success and Failure in Science Education: A Focus Group Study on Turkish Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate primary school students' success and failure in science courses. The participants of the study included 24 students enrolled in the 8th grade of a secondary school and focus group interviews were held. It was observed in the study that the successful students focused more on science and mathematics classes, while the unsuccessful students did more on verbal classes. Considering the topics the successful group considered related to the science class, the students in the successful group focused on the knowledge that made their life easier and that they could use in their life, while the unsuccessful group paid more attention to the importance of the topic. Moreover, it was observed that both groups used similar learning strategies. According to the findings of the study, it can be claimed that the interest and the support of the family and social environment play an important role in success in science class. Keywords: focus group, primary education, science education, science courses.

“We are sorry to inform you…”—The effects of early elimination on science competition participants’ career aspirations

“…Especially in academic settings, the attribution of success and failure to internal or external factors can influence students' continued involvement in science (Assouline et al, 2006; Guler, 2013; Simpson & Maltese, 2017). Moreover, in the context of the German Physics Olympiad, Treiber (2020) found that participants hold different views about whether or not their results depended on their own effort in the competition–especially in the first competition round.…”