Indicators of senior physics enrolment

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Indicators of senior physics enrolment

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Title: Indicators of senior physics enrolment
Author/Creator: Evans, Paul
Supervisor: Lynch, Kathy
Description: Through a mixed methods approach, the research quantifies and qualifies the complexities that constitute a student‟s perception of physics and determines if these perceptions influence a student‟s subject choice. The study reported in this thesis was undertaken to compare the number of Sunshine Coast senior physics enrolments within the context of what is occurring to the number of Queensland and Australian senior physics enrolments. Investigation of Queensland and Sunshine Coast physics enrolments emphasise not only declining enrolments, but more importantly, the increasing number of Year 12 physics students who are failing to complete the senior physics course. Analysis showed a correlation not only between a student perceiving that „physics is useful for the future‟ and selecting senior physics, but also between a student perceiving a physics career as ‗interesting‘ and selecting senior physics. Students have confirmed that the science teacher is the major contributor to the development of these perceptions. There is also a significant difference between male and female student perceptions of physics. A logistic regression analysis used to identify factors that impact on a student selecting senior physics revealed that „confidence level in describing physics concepts‘ is the most important. This study and recommended strategies address the support required for science and physics teachers to deliver an effective awareness of physics and physics-related careers to inform the negative perceptions of physics which have contributed to declining senior physics enrolments. This study is of crucial importance, not only in relation to the future of senior physics in a secondary educational setting, but also to the wider context of preparing and developing skilled employees for an increasingly technological and „physics-reliant‟ world.
Description: Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Education (Research), University of the Sunshine Coast, 2011.
Year: 2011
Subject: FoR 1303 (Specialist Studies in Education) | Sunshine Coast | Queensland | senior physics | Year 12 physics enrolments | participation rate | completion rate | drop-out rate | curriculum diversification | senior subject selection process | perceptions of physics | physics and physics-related careers

Collection(s): University of the Sunshine Coast Theses
Resource Type: Thesis (Masters)

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