Student attitudes toward science: The case of thai upper secondary school non-science students

Abstract

Generally, non-science students are students who have selected and focused on other subjects excluding science for example art, language, music, and mathematics. Whether the non-science students like or dislike science, they are still required to enroll in science courses in the upper secondary school. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward science of non-science students. The participants were 250 upper secondary school non-science students in the vicinity of and including the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, Thailand. The questionnaire used in this study was developed by the researchers for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data were analyzed by using the criterion reference method considering the mean values of the data. The participants' written responses were coded and analyzed qualitatively. The results found that only nine students like science subjects the most from the eight different learning areas (Thai Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies Religion and Culture, Health and Physical Education, Arts, Occupations and Technology, and Foreign Languages). On the other hand, over 150 students arranged science subjects in numbers five to eight of the eight areas. Moreover, the science curricula they learned seemed difficult and have had an impact on their grades in science. The results revealed how non-science students think about science and this information will be useful for developing a suitable science curriculum for these students in the further research. © Common Ground, Chaninan Pruekpramool, Nason Phonphok, Orvil L. White, Kusalin Musikul.