Background: Capturing measures of students' attitudes toward science has long been a focus within the field of science education. The resulting interest has led to the development of many instruments over the years. There is considerable disagreement about how attitudes should be measured, and especially whether students' attitudes toward science…

In this article, the authors discuss role-play as a pedagogical strategy to engage kindergarten and first-grade students in science and engineering. They present a five-part Mars colony lesson that they developed for a blended class, during which students role-play a space-exploration story that enables them to gain a firsthand perspective of what…

What motivates individuals to embark on graduate careers in physics and chemistry and how could these motivations impact future productivity? This study examines gender differences in such motivations and their ability to predict select future success outcomes (publications and grant funding) for physical scientists. The data were obtained as part…

Recent research and public policy have indicated the need for increasing the physical science workforce through development of interest and engagement with informal and formal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiences. This study examines the association of family education and physical scientists' informal experiences in…

With recent attention to improving scientific workforce development and student achievement, there has been a rise in effort to understand and encourage student engagement in physical science. This study examines the association of family influence and initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression models. Research questions…

In section two of a 2002 amendment on the Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Improvement Act, congress stated "A workforce that is highly trained in science...is crucial to generating the innovation that drives economic growth..." (Committee on Science, 2002). Given the growth in science,…

The underrepresentation of women in physics doctorate programs and in tenured academic positions indicates a need to evaluate what may influence their career choice and persistence. This qualitative paper examines eleven females in physics doctoral programs and professional science positions in order to provide a more thorough understanding of why…

This paper examines the experiences reported by scientists and graduate students regarding the experiences that first engaged them in science. The interviews analysed for this paper come from Project Crossover, a mixed-methods study of the transition from graduate student to PhD scientist in the fields of chemistry and physics. This analysis…

This US study investigates interactive associations between structure in inquiry-type learning activities and academic attainment in high school science with introductory college science performance as the outcome. Past studies of this type have tended to use smaller samples and shorter-range methods of assessing the influence of interactions.…

Using data from a national survey of Ph.D.-holding chemists and physicists, time-to-doctoral degree is found to be a strong predictor of salary: each additional year in graduate school corresponds to a significantly lower average salary. This is true even while controlling for standard measures of scientific merit (grant funding and publication…

Specialized public high schools of science, mathematics, and technology are commonly viewed as the "crown jewel" of their respective school districts and, many times, of their respective states. These schools are intended to coalesce the most academically talented, science-focused students in each district or state and typically draw excellent…

An individual's motivational orientation serves as a drive to action and can influence their career success. This study examines how goal orientation toward the pursuit of a graduate degree in physics and chemistry influences later success outcomes of practicing physicists and chemists. Two main categories of goal orientation are examined in this…

The attrition of females studying physics after high school is a growing concern to the science education community. Most undergraduate science programs require introductory physics coursework. Thus, success in introductory physics is usually necessary for students to progress to higher levels of science study. Success also influences attitudes;…

This pilot study investigated the capacity of eye-gaze tracking to identify differences in problem-solving behaviours within a group of individuals who possessed varying degrees of knowledge and expertise in three disciplines of science (biology, chemistry and physics). The six participants, all pre-service science teachers, completed an 18-item…

Examines the extent to which a high school physics course prepares students for college physics success. In this study of 1,933 introductory college physics students, demographic and schooling factors account for a large fraction of the variation in college physics grades at 18 colleges and universities from around the nation. (Author/SAH)