Science choices and preferences of middle and secondary school students in Utah

Baird, J. Hugh; Lazarowitz, Reuven; Allman, Verl

doi:10.1002/tea.3660210106

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…They found differences favoring gifted girls in biology, but favoring gifted boys in chemistry and physics. Similar findings in the research were also found by Baird, Lazarowitz, and Allman (1984) and Kahle, Parker, Rennie, and Riley (1993). In both studies, girls reported greater interest in sciences associated with plants and animals, and boys with matter and energy.…”

Section: Science Interest Continuumsupporting

confidence: 88%

Intentions of young students to enroll in science courses in the future: An examination of gender differences

1999

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examined young students' perceptions of gender‐appropriate science courses. The sample consisted of 427 students in grades 4, 5, and 6, between the ages of 9 and 13. Students completed the Course Selection Sheet (CSS) to choose courses for themselves and members of the opposite gender. A psychosocial framework was offered to explain the differential course selection patterns between young boys and girls. The study reveals a strong gender effect pointing toward stereotypical perceptions of selected science courses for oneself (p ≤ 0.01). When students selected science courses for the opposite gender, the evidence of gender‐role stereotypes was even greater (p < 0.000). Course selection profiles imply that a reciprocal relationship exists in the number and kind of courses selected by girls and boys. A detailed analysis suggests that both boys and girls perceive physical science and technology‐related courses as appropriate subjects for boys to study and life sciences as appropriate subjects for girls to study. Surprisingly, students' future science course selections resemble current enrollment data of master's and doctoral candidates. The students' perceptions of science are seen years prior to the actual encounter with the science courses listed on the course selection menu. These findings question the auspiciousness of programs designed to ameliorate gender differences in science during junior or senior high school years. Suggestions for school curriculum development and the importance of informal science experiences were examined. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 83:55–75, 1999.

show abstract

Section: Science Interest Continuumsupporting

confidence: 88%

Intentions of young students to enroll in science courses in the future: An examination of gender differences

1999

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A number of studies provide evidence that humans have higher preference, superior recall, and visual detection of animals relative to plants. Baird et al (1984) and Wandersee (1986) both surveyed secondary school students in the United States (sample sizes of 1855 and 136 students, respectively) to test preferences for science topics and found clear preference for studying zoological over botanical topics. Kinchin (1999) tested preferences of 162 students (U.K. residents) for specimens of an unfamiliar plant and animal in the classroom and found an overwhelming preference for animal over plant specimens.…”

Section: Assessing the Evidence For Plant Blindnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant blindness and the implications for plant conservation

Balding

Williams

2016

Conservation Biology

243

146

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant conservation initiatives lag behind and receive considerably less funding than animal conservation projects. We explored a potential reason for this bias: a tendency among humans to neither notice nor value plants in the environment. Experimental research and surveys have demonstrated higher preference for, superior recall of, and better visual detection of animals compared with plants. This bias has been attributed to perceptual factors such as lack of motion by plants and the tendency of plants to visually blend together but also to cultural factors such as a greater focus on animals in formal biological education. In contrast, ethnographic research reveals that many social groups have strong bonds with plants, including nonhierarchical kinship relationships. We argue that plant blindness is common, but not inevitable. If immersed in a plant-affiliated culture, the individual will experience language and practices that enhance capacity to detect, recall, and value plants, something less likely to occur in zoocentric societies. Therefore, conservation programs can contribute to reducing this bias. We considered strategies that might reduce this bias and encourage plant conservation behavior. Psychological research demonstrates that people are more likely to support conservation of species that have human-like characteristics and that support for conservation can be increased by encouraging people to practice empathy and anthropomorphism of nonhuman species. We argue that support for plant conservation may be garnered through strategies that promote identification and empathy with plants.

show abstract

“…." Studies in Science Education have shown that differences exist between boys and girls' choices and their preferences of science subjects offered at the high school level (Jungwirth, 1973;Tamir, 1975;Entwistle and Duckworth, 1977;Lazarowitz and Hertz-Lazarowitz, 1979;Baird et al, 1984). The above studies seem to indicate that while boys are more oriented toward so-called "hard" science subjects (physics, mathematics, chemistry, etc.…”

Section: Reuven Lazarowitzmentioning

confidence: 97%