Volume 56 | Number 3 | September 2010 teachingscience 19 Features By Grady Venville, Mary Oliver, Nancy Longnecker and Léonie Rennie Selecting science subjects: Why students do, why they can’t! This research used a survey and interviews to ind out which science subjects 174 Year 10 students wanted to study in Year 11 and why. The results showed that the major reasons students wanted to study a particular science subject were because they were interested in the subject matter and because they felt they would achieve well in that subject. These students’ Year 11 enrolment data indicated that far fewer students actually enrolled in each of the science subjects compared with those who said that they wanted to. Questions are raised about possible barriers to science enrolment including school policy relating to published school league tables. Research has suggested that the reasons students ‘switch off’ science are complex but include a number of factors such as poor teaching, boring content matter and perceived lack of relevance to the real world and to the lives of students (Haynes, 2008). Another commonly cited reason for students losing interest in science during their high school years, is that science subjects are perceived as being more conceptually challenging and more dificult in which to score high grades (Haynes, 2008). In England and Wales, it has been reported that ‘pressure can also originate from the school for potential underachievers not to opt for STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] subjects because of the knock- on effect on the league tables’ (Haynes, 2008, p. 6). Haynes (2008) refers to ‘the inluencers’ (p. 8) including teachers, the media, peers, parents and careers advice. In particular, she reports that peers often stress the ‘uncool’ aspects of science and related subjects such as mathematics, resulting in negative stereotyping that is inluenced by group norms. Method The design of the research was a case study (Creswell, 2009) of one cohort of students in a suburban high school conducted over a six month period when they were in transition from Year 10 (14 and 15 years) to Year 11 (15 and 16 years). In Western Australia, Year 10 students usually study ‘general’ science in Years 8, 9 and 10 and they do not have any choice with regard to the science they study. Towards the end of Year 10, students select six subjects which they will study in Year 11. Most students study the same six subjects at a higher level in Year 12. Therefore, during the transition from Year 10 to Year 11 they decide whether they want to continue studying science or not and, if so, which particular science subjects they want to study. The current curriculum in Western Australia includes eight science subjects in Year 11 and Year 12 including: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Engineering, Human Biology, Integrated Science, Physics and Psychology. Schools may or may not offer courses depending on their resources and students. Most schools offer courses in Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics. Four research questions guided the data collection. The purpose of this research was to investigate high school students’ attitudes toward studying various science subjects including biology, chemistry, human biology, integrated science and physics at the point in their education when they have choice and the factors impacting their attitudes. The problem being investigated revolves around mounting evidence that despite science being a key factor contributing to a nation’s economic growth and social prosperity, there is a worldwide phenomenon of increasing negative student attitudes toward science in developed nations including Australia (DEST, 2006) and decreased proportionate enrolments in school science subjects (Lyons & Quinn, 2010). The subjects that students select at the point in their schooling when they have a choice are an indicator of their attitudes towards science. In Western Australia (WA), where this research was conducted, this ‘point of choice’ is when students transition from Year 10 to Year 11, when they are 15 or 16 years of age. This is an important turning point. Students are able to make choices about whether or not to continue studying science and which science subjects to take. Their choices will determine whether they have the prerequisites for further study in science in higher education and/or science-related careers. Evidence indicates that the quality of teaching is a signiicant determinant of attitude toward school science (Osborne, Simon & Collins, 2003) and a major factor in students continuing with science education past the age of 16 years (Woolnough, 1994). Results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted in 2002/3 indicated that the degree to which students enjoy learning science has some association with science achievement, and it almost certainly has an association with engagement in science leading to continued studies in the area (Thomson, 2006). Lyons (2006) used the terms ‘cultural and social capital’ to describe the supportive family relationships and views that were aligned with school science and argued that the lack of attractiveness of school science set a very high bar which needed considerable cultural and social capital to overcome.