Perceptions of primary school students toward learning about science: the case of Spain

Jimenenez Vivas, Amparo and Menendez Alvarez Hevia, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2138-1490 (2022) Perceptions of primary school students toward learning about science: the case of Spain. Education 3-13, 50 (8). pp. 1046-1058. ISSN 0300-4279

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Abstract

It is vital that the next generation of young people develop scientific skills to ensure global environmental sustainability and the capacity to solve many of the global problems caused by narrow scientific thinking. The aim of this article is to discuss the interest on studying science of primary school students and how to engage them in science education. We explore the perceptions of 709 sixth-grade students from Spain aged between 11 and12 with regard to studying science using a questionnaire entitled Scientific Competencies. Our findings show that there is a growing interest in science motivated by the engagement of primary school students in scientific learning that is transferable to daily life. We discuss how this optimistic result could lead to more students becoming interested in pursuing a career in science. We conclude the article by discussing some of the challenges in relation to maintaining students’ positive attitude towards learning about science.