Perceptions of young Brazilians about their Science classes

Abstract

The disenchantment of students for scientific careers and in Science classes has promoted the need to identify the perceptions of youngsters towards science, their Science classes, the role of science in society, among others. In this sense, the international project The Relevance of Science Education (Rose) appears as one of the initiatives that seek to respond to this issue. It has already been implemented in over 40 countries and it is the subject matter of the work described herein. The research is within the educational evaluation field. The nationwide representative Brazilian sample involved 2,365 students, from 84 schools. The data reveals that young Brazilians consider school science interesting, despite having no preference for science in relation to other disciplines. There is a general positive attitude towards the subject, both with respect to its importance and its usefulness. Nevertheless, both girls and boys have little interest in joining scientific careers. The gap between the interest in school science and the interest in career imposes the need for further studies on the subject.

Keywords:
students' interests; educational evaluation; educational science