Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal

Jesuína M. B. Fonseca; Joseph E. Conboy

doi:10.12973/ejmste/75455

Full Text (PDF)

Jesuína M. B. Fonseca ¹ ² ^* , Joseph E. Conboy ³ ⁴

More Detail

¹ University of the Algarve
² Centre for Educational Research, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, Portugal
³ Instituto Superior Dom Afonso III, Loulé, Portugal
⁴ Center for Education-Society Studies, Loulé, Portugal
^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

High rates of failure in secondary level science classes are a problem worldwide. Effective teaching and efficient management of schools requires information as to the causes of failure. One approach to acquiring this information is to improve our understanding of what the students themselves perceive as the causes and antecedents of school failure. In this article, we analyze the perceptions of the factors of academic failure among grade-ten, science-tracked students. Students from eight schools in southern Portugal (N=346) participated in the study. The major factors of failure in 10th grade science courses, according to students, are quality of teaching and previous student preparation. One third of the students did not think that secondary science education prepared them for life in a scientific-technological society. A culture of high expectancy on the part of teachers, parents and administrators may be key to influencing rates of success.

Keywords

failure
management practices
secondary science
student perceptions
teaching

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2006 - Volume 2 Issue 2, pp. 82-95

Publication date: 23 Jun 2006

Article Views: 3030

Article Downloads: 2785

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Anthony, G. (2000). Factors influencing first-year students success in mathematics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 31(1), 3-15.
Buxton, C. (2005). Creating a culture of academic success in an urban science and math magnet high school. Science Education, 89(3), 392-417.
Ballone-Duran, L., Czerniak, C. & Haney, J. (2005). A study of the effects of a LSC project on scientists’ teaching practices and beliefs. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 16(2), 159-184.
Carreira, T., & André, J. (2000). Transiçăo do ensino “obrigatório” para o ensino “voluntário”: Algumas causas de crise [Transition from “compulsory” education to “voluntary” education: Some causes of the crisis]. Educaçăo Indivíduo Sociedade, 1(1), 123-142.
Covington, M. (2000). Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 171-200.
Dâmaso, P. (2005). Governo combate Insucesso escolar [Government combats school failure]. Online November 2005: http://jn.sapo.pt
Davis, K. (2003). Change is hard: What science teachers are telling us about reform and teacher learning of innovative practices. Science Education, 87(1), 3-30.
Desimone, L. (1999). Linking parent involvement with student achievement: Do race and income matter? Journal of Educational Research, 93(1), 11-30.
Easton, L. (2002). Lessons from learners. Educational Leadership, 60(7), 64-68.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture. (2000). European report on quality of school education—16 quality indicators. Brussels: EC-DGEC.
Fonseca, J. (2003). De alunos em risco de abandono escolar para alunos com sucesso académico: Um modelo de reforma no contexto internacional [From students at risk to academically successful students: A model for reform in the international context]. Lusíada Psicologia, 1(1), 211-236.
Fonseca, J. & Conboy, J. (1999). Introductory physics for non-physics majors—A case study. Journal of College Science Teaching, 28(4), 272-277.
GAVE: Gabinete de Avaliaçăo Educacional. (2000). PISA 2000--Conceitos fundamentais em jogo na avaliaçăo de literacia científica e competęncias dos alunos portugueses [Fundamental concepts in the evaluation of scientific literacy of Portuguese students]. Lisboa: Ministério de Educaçăo.
GAVE: Gabinete de Avaliaçăo Educacional. (2001). Resultados do estudo internacional PISA 2000 [Results of the international study PISA 2000]. PISA 2000 National Reports. Online November 2005: http://www.pisa.oecd.org
Gentry, M., & Springer, S. (2002). Secondary student perceptions of their class activities regarding meaningfulness, challenge, choice and appeal: An initial validation study. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 13, 192-204.
Green, S. B. (1991) How many subjects does it take to do a regression analysis? Multivariate Behavioral Research, 26, 499-510.
Hammond, L. (2001). Notes from California: An anthropological approach to urban science education for language minority families. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(9), 983-999.
Insucesso escolar afecta um em cada tręs alunos [School failure affects one in three students]. (2004, October 14). Correio da Manhă. Online November 2005: http://www.correiodamanha.pt
Kozoll, R., & Osborne, M. (2004). Finding meaning in science: Lifeworld, identity and self. Science Education, 88(2), 157-181.
Ministério da Educaçăo. (2002). Os números da educaçăo no recenseamento—Os números do abandono escolar [The numbers of education in the census—The numbers of school dropout]. Online November 2005: http://www.min-edu.pt
National Center for Educational Statistics. (2003). NAEP Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
National Research Council (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
National Research Council (2002). Investigating the influence of standards: A framework for research in mathematics, science and technology education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
OECD. (2004). Learning for tomorrow’ s world—First results from PISA 2003. Science performance in PISA 2003. Online November 24, 2005: http://www.pisa.oecd.org
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Daniel, L. G. (2003, February 19). Typology of analytical and interpretational errors in quantitative and qualitative educational research. Current Issues in Education [On-line], 6(2). Online November 23, 2005: http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume6/number2/
Rayneri, L., & Gerber, B. (2004). Development of a student perceptions inventory. Roeper Review, 26(2), 90-95.
Tucker, C., Herman, K., Pedersen, T., Vogel, D., & Reinke, W. (2000). Student-generated solutions to enhance the academic success of African-American youth. Child Study Journal, 30(3), 205-221.
Weiner, B. (1980). Human motivation. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Weiner, B. (1986). An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Whitelaw, S., Milosevic, L., & Daniels, S. (2000). Gender, behaviour and achievement: A preliminary study of pupil perceptions and attitudes, Gender and Education, 12(1), 87-113.
Wong, E., Wiest, D., & Cusick, L. (2002). Perceptions of autonomy support, parent involvement, competence and selfworth as predictors of motivational orientation and academic achievement: An examination of sixth- and ninth-grade regular education students. Adolescence, 37(146), 255-266.
Yore, L., Anderson, J. and Shymansky, J. (2005). Sensing the impact of elementary school science reform: A study of stakeholder perceptions of implementation, construtivist strategies and school-home collaboration. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 16 (1), 65-88.
Zacharia, Z., & Barton, A. (2004). Urban middle-school students’ attitudes toward a defined science. Science Education, 88(2), 197-222.

How to cite this article

APA

Fonseca, J. M. B., & Conboy, J. E. (2006). Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2(2), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

Vancouver

Fonseca JMB, Conboy JE. Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2006;2(2):82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

AMA

Fonseca JMB, Conboy JE. Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2006;2(2), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

Chicago

Fonseca, Jesuína M. B., and Joseph E. Conboy. "Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2006 2 no. 2 (2006): 82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

Harvard

Fonseca, J. M. B., and Conboy, J. E. (2006). Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2(2), pp. 82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455

MLA

Fonseca, Jesuína M. B. et al. "Secondary Student Perceptions of Factors Effecting Failure in Science in Portugal". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 2, no. 2, 2006, pp. 82-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75455