Attitudes towards science among senior secondary students in Fiji

Journal article


Naiker, Mani, Sharma, Bibhya, Wakeling, Lara, Johnson, Joel Benjamin, Mani, Janice, Kumar, Bijeta, Naidu, Anji, Khan, M. G. M. and Brown, Stephen. (2020). Attitudes towards science among senior secondary students in Fiji. Waikato Journal of Education. 25(1), pp. 57-72. https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v25i0.704
AuthorsNaiker, Mani, Sharma, Bibhya, Wakeling, Lara, Johnson, Joel Benjamin, Mani, Janice, Kumar, Bijeta, Naidu, Anji, Khan, M. G. M. and Brown, Stephen
Abstract

In order to investigate gender and ethnicity-based differences in scientific attitudes among Fijian students, the widely studied Test of Scientific Related Attitudes (TOSRA) was administered to 1401 senior secondary Fijian students (Years 11–13; approximately 15–18 years of age). Students generally had a positive attitude towards science overall in Years 11–13, with females showing a more positive attitude than males. By Year 13, the attitudes of females towards science had become more negative. The attitude of iTaukei students towards science started out lower than other ethnicities in Year 11 and increased during Year 12, before falling to below the starting attitude levels in Year 13. Fijian students of Indian descent generally had a positive attitude towards science that remained consistent throughout Years 11–13, with an increase in leisure and career interest in science in Year 13. A strong correlation was found between the ethnicity of a student and their first language. Continued science outreach programmes, particularly in Year 12, are important to achieve and retain scientific interest and attitudes among Fijian secondary students.

KeywordsTest of Scientific Related Attitudes (TOSRA); ethnicity; gender; senior secondary students; Fiji Islands
Year2020
JournalWaikato Journal of Education
Journal citation25 (1), pp. 57-72
PublisherUniversity of Waikato
ISSN1173-6135
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.15663/wje.v25i0.704
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85097271255
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range57-72
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online2020
Publication process dates
Deposited28 Jun 2021
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