Toward a Deeper Understanding of Student Interest or Lack of Interest in Science

This study examined the nature of college students' interest or lack of interest in science and the factors to which they attributed their interest or lack of interest. Twenty-four college students were interviewed to gain an understanding of their ideas and experiences of science; their overall interest in science; their interest levels in four aspects of science: (1) learning science facts/concepts in school, (2) learning science facts/concepts outside of school, (3) figuring out scientific knowledge in school, and (4) figuring out scientific knowledge outside of school; and the factors to which they attributed their interest or lack of interest in science. The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis was used for data analysis. The findings revealed that most students had different levels of interest in the four aspects of science. Almost all students who identified themselves as uninterested in science were very interested in some areas of science in some contexts. Reasons to account for the different levels of interest in different aspects of science and implications for education are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)