“The Science discipline is interesting, but it is not my favorite”: a paradox among Brazilian students

• Autor(a) principal: Tonin, Kauana Gehrke
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Tolentino-Neto, Luiz Caldeira Brant de, Ocampo, Daniel Morin
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Amazônia (Universidade Federal do Pará. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufpa.br/index.php/revistaamazonia/article/view/11987
• topic: ROSE Brazil; Science teaching; Preference for the Science discipline; Large-scale assessment.; ROSE Brasil; Ensino de Ciências; Preferência pela disciplina Ciências; Avaliação em larga escala.

Although young Brazilians say they are interested in the Science discipline, they prefer other subjects. This study analyzed three groups of young Brazilians distributed within the preference for this discipline (Specific Priorities, Other Priorities, Poor Priority). We aimed to understand similarities and differences between these groups regarding their interests in learning topics in Science and Technology, their perceptions of science classes, and their out-of-school experiences. The data used belong to the national sample of the ROSE-Brazil questionnaire, which collects youngsters’ opinions and information on their interests and attitudes towards science and technology. This study is a baseline survey that involves a large volume of data; therefore, it used a quantitative approach through statistical analysis. The findings show that the Specific Priorities group is highly interested in learning science topics, has a positive view of their classes, and performs science-related extracurricular activities more often. The Poor Priority group has the opposite behavior to the previous group. Finally, the Other Priorities group is interested in science topics and extracurricular activities that stand out, such as the ones related to health and the use of technologies. These topics may be used to motivate these young students in their science classes.