Reason behind the lack of interest in physics of second students

Contributed by:
kevin
Readers of Physics Education will need no reminder that too few students elect to study physics at A-level and, subsequently, as undergraduates. This has led to a continuing shortage of physics graduates and, in turn, of such graduates becoming teachers.
1. Why aren’t secondary students
interested in physics?
Christopher Williams, Martin Stanisstreet, Katie Spall,
Eddie Boyes and Dominic Dickson
Science Communication Unit, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool,
Liverpool L69 7ZE, UK
E-mail: qe04@liv.ac.uk (E Boyes)
This article describes a questionnaire study to determine why fewer Year 10
school students are interested in physics than in biology. The major general
reasons for finding physics uninteresting are that it is seen as difficult and
irrelevant. Certain areas within the physics curriculum are considered to be
boring by some students, interesting by others. Other physics topics,
however, are reported only in terms of being interesting; ‘the universe’ is an
example. Males and females offer different reasons for finding physics
boring, with males enjoying practical exercises and females valuing where
physics can be seen as relevant.
Introduction themselves do draw such a distinction. For ex-
Readers of Physics Education will need no re- ample, in 2002 some 31 500 students sat A-level
physics compared with the 52 100 who sat biology
minder that too few students elect to study physics
[2]. At present, teachers have a general impres-
at A-level and, subsequently, as undergraduates.
sion that over the period of secondary schooling
This has led to a continuing shortage of physics
students may lose, or certainly fail to gain, an en-
graduates and, in turn, of such graduates becom-
thusiasm for physics. There are many reasons for
ing teachers. As a consequence, secondary school
this and some, for example the predilections and
physics is often taught by teachers whose primary
home backgrounds of individual students, and the
qualification may be in a science other than physics status and remuneration of careers for physicists,
and who, despite their best efforts, may not teach are beyond the control of teachers. Other reasons,
the subject with the same enthusiasm or ‘feel’ as however, are under the influence of the educational
a physics graduate, and thus the problem may be system, if not individual teachers [3].
perpetuated. Although teachers may have intuitive ideas
Educational research has explored the atti- about when and why this happens, there is
tudes of school students to science—their views little systematic evidence. Recently, we have
about the science curriculum, their opinions of started to track the opinions of students over
how science is taught, their ideas about the scien- this period about physics and, as a scientific
tific process, their perceptions of scientists. How- comparator, biology [4]. We have shown that
ever, such research has often not distinguished students enter secondary schooling with an equal
between the different subjects within science [1], liking for biology and physics, perhaps not even
although the evidence of A-level entries and uni- distinguishing between them and thinking more
versity applications demonstrates that students in terms of ‘science’. However, over the period
324 PHYSICS EDUCATION 38 (4) 0031-9120/03/040324+06$30.00 © 2003 IOP Publishing Ltd
2. Why aren’t secondary students interested in physics?
of secondary schooling, whereas their liking for was imposed. The questionnaire was piloted
biology remains reasonably stable, their liking in one school and the responses indicated that
for physics declines. This is accompanied by the wording was appropriate to the age-group
changes in their more specific ideas about physics. concerned.
For example, they decreasingly see physics as The completed questionnaires were scruti-
able to contribute to solutions to environmental nized and four lists of ideas raised by students
or medical problems, and increasingly see physics in response to the open-form items were con-
as requiring mathematical ability. However, the structed. One list of views was prepared for those
biggest difference between students’ responses students who had responded to the closed item
to parallel questionnaire items about physics and about physics that they found it ‘very interesting’
biology is that they perceive biology as interesting, or ‘interesting’. A separate list was constructed
physics as boring. Furthermore, the responses for those students who reported that they found
to questionnaire items about whether physics is physics ‘boring’ or ‘very boring’. Two corre-
seen as interesting or boring correlate with those sponding lists were produced for the biology sec-
to the item exploring their general like or dislike tion of the questionnaire. When the lists were com-
of physics. Thus, it seems that a major reason that pleted, the ideas were arranged in categories and,
underpins students’ increasingly negative feelings following this, any ideas that were very similar
towards physics is their perception of it as boring. were pooled. Each pooled idea was then given a
This is significant in that there is evidence that code, and an Excel spreadsheet was constructed in
students who find a subject interesting tend to which each idea code had a column. The ques-
choose it for further study [5]. tionnaires were then re-examined and the ideas
Students use words such as ‘interesting’ and raised by each student were encoded onto the Ex-
‘boring’ in a fairly loose manner, so it is not cel spreadsheet. The data were then imported into
entirely clear what students may mean by viewing an SPSS data file for analysis. In some cases, ideas
physics as ‘boring’. The aim of the present were pooled into more general categories.
study, therefore, was to explore why many school
students think of physics in this way—what is Results
driving the generation of this negative view of The final questionnaire was completed by 317
physics? students in English National Curriculum Year 10
from six community comprehensive schools. The
Methods male/female ratio was 44/56.
Students’ ideas were gathered using a short
questionnaire that contained parallel sections Proportions of Year 10 school students finding
about physics and biology. Each section had biology and physics interesting or boring
two items. The first, a closed-form item, asked The results are shown in tables 1 to 6. The
students whether they found physics (or, in responses to the closed-form items showed that
the parallel section, biology) ‘very interesting’, about half of the students found biology very
‘interesting’, ‘neither interesting nor boring’, interesting or interesting, and about a quarter
‘boring’ or ‘very boring’. This was followed found it boring or very boring (table 1). In contrast,
by an open-form item in which students were only about a quarter of the students thought that
invited to ‘tell us why you think this’. The physics was very interesting or interesting and
questionnaire wording encouraged students to about half thought it boring or very boring. There
write ‘as many reasons as you can’. In order to was no significant difference in the responses of
compensate for any possible ‘carry-over’ effect the males and females to the closed-form item
from the first section to the second, two versions about biology, whereas statistically significantly
of the questionnaire were produced, one with the fewer females than males thought that physics was
questions about biology first, the other with the interesting. Thus, the results to this section of the
questions about physics first. The two versions questionnaire support the contention that students
were issued alternately to students. During find physics less interesting than a comparator
the completion of the questionnaire, examination science subject, biology, and that fewer girls than
conditions prevailed, although no time limit boys find physics interesting.
July 2003 PHYSICS EDUCATION 325
3. C Williams et al
Table 1. Proportions of Year 10 school students finding biology and physics interesting or boring.
Biology Physics
All Males Females All Males Females
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Very interesting 10 7 12 6 8 4
Interesting 47 45 48 20 28 13
Neither interesting nor boring 22 21 23 26 26 25
Boring 15 18 12 25 20 29
Very boring 6 8 5 24 18 20
Percentages may not total exactly 100 due to rounding. Distributions of responses to
questionnaire item about biology between genders were not significantly different.
Distributions of responses to questionnaire item about physics between genders were
significantly different (p < 0.001, χ 2 test). n = 317, 44% male, 56% female.
Table 2. Predominant reasons for Year 10 school Table 3. Predominant reasons for Year 10 school
students finding biology or physics boring. students finding biology or physics interesting.
Category of reason Biology Physics Category of reason Biology Physics
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Difficult/hard subject 29 48 Easy subject 18 14
Subject too easy 3 11 Enjoy subject 32 10
Do not enjoy subject 12 30 Subject offers a challenge 1 9
Content of subject 6 20 Content of subject 59 40
Too little practical work 14 7 Practical exercises 28 46
Subject repetitive/predictable 18 6 Relevance of subject 8 19
Subject irrelevant 0 14 Variety of subject 5 12
Percentages may total more than 100 because Percentages may total more than 100 because
individual students offered more than one reason. Data individual students offered more than one reason. Data
are given as a percentage of those thinking that biology are given as a percentage of those thinking that biology
(or physics) was very boring or boring in responses to (or physics) was very interesting or interesting in
the closed questionnaire items. n = 317. responses to the closed questionnaire items. n = 317.
Predominant reasons for Year 10 school students because it was too easy. Another frequent reason
finding biology or physics boring was that the subject was ‘not relevant’, either to
Those students who found biology or physics everyday life or to other subjects. Interestingly,
boring gave a number of reasons, many of which about a fifth of the students who found physics
appeared similar for the two subjects (table 2). boring named specific topics or areas of the
In both cases, some students wrote simply that curriculum to support their view.
they did not enjoy the subject. However, the
predominant reason for finding biology boring was Predominant reasons for Year 10 school students
that it was seen as a difficult subject although, in finding biology or physics interesting
contrast, a few students thought the reverse, that Many of these views were supported in a
it was boring because it was too easy. Another complementary manner by those students who
frequent reason for finding biology boring was reported finding biology or physics interesting
when it was envisaged as repetitive or predictable. (table 3). Some students wrote that they found
The dearth of practical work was also raised as the subjects interesting because they enjoyed them.
a reason for finding biology boring. The major For both biology and physics, some students stated
reason for finding physics boring, given by almost that they found the subjects interesting because
half of the students who thought this, was that it they were easy, although a few students—a higher
was considered difficult, although, as with biology, proportion in the case of physics—found the
a few students thought that physics was boring challenge of the subject interesting. Some students
326 PHYSICS EDUCATION July 2003
4. Why aren’t secondary students interested in physics?
Table 4. Topics in physics found boring or interesting Differences between reasons of male and females
by Year 10 school students. students for finding physics boring or interesting
Specific content of physics Boring Interesting Responses to the closed questionnaire items
found boring or interesting (%) (%) confirmed that there were differences in the overall
Electricity 3 8 feelings about physics of male and female school
Energy 1 8 students. For this reason, the reasons given by
Forces 2 5 males and females for finding physics boring and
Mathematical aspects 15 12
interesting were compared (tables 5 and 6). More
Circuits 4 females found physics boring because it was seen
Colour/spectrum 1 as too easy, because they disliked specific areas of
Magnetism 3
the curriculum, or because it was seen as irrelevant.
Nuclear energy 3
Solar system/universe 6 More of the males reported that they found physics
boring because there was too little practical work
Figures are given as a percentage of those thinking that or because it was repetitive (table 5). The only
physics was very boring or boring, or very interesting
or interesting, in responses to the closed questionnaire
statistically significance between the males’ and
item. n = 317. females’ reasons for finding physics interesting
was that more of the males enjoyed the practical
exercises (table 6).
wrote that the relevance, or that the variety of
topics within the subjects, made them interesting.
Discussion
However, the two most predominant reasons for
finding both biology and physics interesting were This study has revealed some of the reasons why
the content of the curriculum and the practical students might lose interest in physics over the
course of their secondary schooling. It thereby
nature of the subjects. The former played a greater
highlights ways in which we might attempt to
role in making biology interesting to students; the
enhance students’ interest in physics.
latter played a greater role in convincing students
In terms of the content of the physics
that physics was interesting.
curriculum, some topics appear to attract some
students but deter others. As such, emphasis or
reduction of such subjects might, overall, prove
Topics in physics found boring or interesting by ineffective. Other areas of the curriculum appear
Year 10 school students to attract some students with little deterrence
Curriculum content was raised as a reason for on others. ‘Space’ is an example raised by
finding physics both boring and interesting by the students in the present study [6], perhaps
students (table 4). Some topics, such as electricity, because of its links to science fiction in the
energy, forces and mathematical aspects, were popular media. One strategy, therefore, might
be to extend the way in which we exemplify
given by different students as a reason for physics
less popular areas of physics by reference to the
being seen as both boring and interesting. Clearly,
more popular. Perhaps more could be made of
then, the impact of such topics on an individual
a discussion of the forces applied to a spacecraft
student’s overall perception of physics depends
during takeoff and in space, and the storage and
upon their predilections. Other topics were use of energy sufficient for space travel. It might
raised only in the context of physics being found even be possible to convince students that for space
interesting: circuits, magnetism, nuclear energy exploration such questions require mathematical,
and the universe were examples. Predominant not just qualitative, solutions. The findings here,
of these was a liking for areas of the curriculum understood intuitively by science teachers, that
covering the solar system or ‘space’. Although a certain topics are inherently popular with students
larger respondent sample may well have revealed while others are inherently unpopular has a bearing
some students who raised these aspects as being on the recent suggestion that science should be
boring, the majority of students appear to find them taught using study topics. It would be interesting
interesting aspects of physics. to know whether the topics designed to illustrate
July 2003 PHYSICS EDUCATION 327
5. C Williams et al
Table 5. Differences between reasons of male and females students for finding physics boring.
Reasons for finding physics boring Boring (%)
All Males Females p
Difficult/hard subject 48 42 51 ns
Subject too easy 11 4 16 0.05
Do not enjoy subject 30 25 32 ns
Content of subject 20 10 25 0.05
Too little practical work 7 14 3 0.05
Subject repetitive/predictable 6 14 2 0.005
Subject irrelevant 14 6 19 0.05
Figures are given as a percentage of those thinking that physics was very
boring or boring, in responses to the closed questionnaire item. n = 317,
44% male, 56% female.
p is the probability that any differences between groups in the table might
have happened by chance. ‘ns’ means that the probability is so high that
the particular difference is deemed to be ‘not significant’ (statistically).
Table 6. Differences between reasons of male and females students for finding physics interesting.
Reasons for finding physics interesting Interesting (%)
All Males Females p
Easy subject 14 12 17 ns
Enjoy subject 10 10 11 ns
Subject offers a challenge 9 6 14 ns
Content of subject 40 40 39 ns
Practical exercises 46 56 29 0.05
Relevance of subject 19 14 29 ns
Variety of subject 12 14 7 ns
Figures are given as a percentage of those thinking that physics was very
interesting or interesting, in responses to the closed questionnaire item.
n = 317, 44% male, 56% female.
p is the probability that any differences between groups in the table might
have happened by chance. ‘ns’ means that the probability is so high that the
particular difference is deemed to be ‘not significant’ (statistically).
more general science principles will be selected students’ concerns about animal rights. Despite
on the basis of evidence and teachers’ experience all this, most teachers would regret the need to
about whether students are likely to have an decrease the extent of practical exercises. So, it
intrinsic interest in them. is worth noting that cutbacks in practical work
For both biology and physics, the results not only reduce opportunities for experiential
of the present study imply that students find learning, they might also influence the popularity
practical exercises interesting, and that some of science subjects overall.
students lament the dearth of such exercises. There Another major influence on whether students
has undoubtedly been pressure on teachers to find a subject interesting appears to reside in
reduce the extent of practical work [7]; it is whether they perceive it as ‘relevant’ [3]. In the
time-consuming in the context of an overcrowded present study ‘relevance’ was given as a reason
curriculum coupled with an increased emphasis on for finding both biology and physics interesting,
the use of examination results as the indicator of and ‘lack of relevance’ as a reason for finding
educational ‘success’, it requires expenditure for them boring. This idea was reinforced by the
equipment and consumables, and there are safety specific curriculum areas that students raised in
implications. In the case of biology, there are the the context of finding the subject interesting,
additional issues of Home Office legislation and particularly for biology. One might easily imagine
328 PHYSICS EDUCATION July 2003
6. Why aren’t secondary students interested in physics?
how school students find the issues they raised Acknowledgments
in this context—the human body, the ‘facts of We wish to thank Ms Julie Shrivastava who
life’, and personal health issues such as smoking assisted with the initial analysis of the data, our
and drinking—as relevant to their everyday lives. teacher colleagues for allowing us access to their
However, a few students also raised the notion students, and the students who completed the
of the degree of relevance of the subject to questionnaires.
other parts of the formal school curriculum.
One suggestion, then, is for science teachers to Received 2 April 2003
place more emphasis on interdisciplinary links, PII: S0031-9120(03)61634-5
perhaps by raising, for example in biology lessons,
circumstances in which physics is relevant to
popular areas of biology.
Perhaps the most obvious factor raised by
students was the link between finding a subject References
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