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PISA 2006: Student attitudes to and engagement with science: How ready are our 15-year-olds for tomorrow's world?

Publication Details

This report examines the attitudes of 15-year-old students to science, along with a measure of their engagement with science.

Author(s): Robyn Caygill [Ministry of Education]

Date Published: September 2008

Appendices

Appendix 1: Countries participating in PISA 2006

Argentina * Australia Austria
Azerbaijan * Belgium Brazil *
Bulgaria * Canada Chile *
Colombia * Croatia * Czech Republic
Denmark Estonia * Finland
France Germany Greece
Hong Kong-China* Hungary Iceland
Indonesia * Ireland Israel *
Italy Japan Jordan *
Korea Kyrgyzstan * Latvia *
Liechtenstein * Lithuania * Luxembourg
Macao-China* Mexico Montenegro *
The Netherlands New Zealand Norway
Poland Portugal Qatar *
Romania * Russian Federation * Serbia *
Slovak Republic Slovenia * Spain
Sweden Switzerland Chinese Taipei *
Thailand * Tunisia * Turkey
United Kingdom United States Uruguay *
* Denotes non-OECD countries.

Appendix 2: Proportions of New Zealand students and levels of interest in general topics in science 

General topic in science
High interest
Medium interest
Low interest
No interest
%
(s.e.)
%
(s.e.)
%
(s.e.)
%
(s.e.)
Physics
15
(0.6)
34
(0.7)
34
(0.8)
17
(0.6)
Chemistry
21
(0.8)
34
(0.8)
30
(0.8)
16
(0.6)
Plant biology
14
(0.6)
30
(0.7)
38
(0.8)
18
(0.7)
Human biology
30
(1.1)
36
(0.8)
23
(0.8)
11
(0.5)
Astronomy
18
(0.7)
31
(0.7)
32
(0.8)
18
(0.6)
Geology
8
(0.4)
28
(0.7)
41
(0.7)
22
(0.6)
Experiments
9
(0.5)
29
(0.7)
39
(0.8)
23
(0.7)
Explanations
6
(0.4)
24
(0.7)
42
(0.8)
28
(0.8)
Notes:
Standard errors (s.e.) are presented in parentheses.
Proportions should add up to 100%; inconsistencies are due to rounding.

Appendix 3: Proportion of students agreeing with statements on instrumental motivation to learn science

Statement on instrumental motivation to learn science Proportion of students agreeing
Australia
United Kingdom
United States
I study science because I know it is useful for me
69
75
77
Making an effort in my science subject(s) is worth it because this will help me in the work I want to do later on
66
71
78
Studying my science subject(s) is worthwhile for me because what I learn will improve my career prospects
64
71
70
I will learn many things in my science subject(s) that will help me get a job
62
65
70
What I learn in my science subject(s) is worthwhile for me because I need this for what I want to study later on
55
54
68

Note:
Response options for each statement were: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The proportions for agreement shown in this table combine those who agreed and those who strongly agreed.

 

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