Factors influencing the take-up of physics within second-level education in Ireland—the teachers’ perspective

Abstract

There has been a disturbing decline in the take-up of physics within second-level education in Ireland since the early nineties. Here, an analysis is presented of the main factors influencing the take-up of physics from the perspective of secondary school teachers. The database underpinning the analysis is based on a comprehensive survey of teacher opinion in Irish schools conducted in December 2004. The sample included all such schools in Ireland and was directed at school principals, senior cycle physics teachers, and junior cycle science teachers. The data reveal that most senior cycle physics teachers in Ireland do not possess a ‘physics-dominated’ primary degree, are dissatisfied with the technical back-up available to them and their students, consider that many of their students lack the basic mathematical skills needed for physics, believe their students are not adequately informed about career opportunities in physics, and feel students are disadvantaged in regard to grade points in the leaving certificate examination compared with most other subjects. These findings echo those of a previous report by the Government Task Force on the Physical Sciences and lend renewed urgency to the necessity of implementing a comprehensive action programme to reverse the decline in physics take-up before it impacts negatively on the Irish economy.

We thank the Department of Education and Science and, in particular, George Porter for advice and support, including constructive comment and suggestions in relation to the design of appropriate questionnaires. We also thank the many school principals and teachers who generously took time to complete our questionnaires, Sylvia Fegan for invaluable advice with regard to key issues to be probed, and, finally, colleagues at secondary and tertiary level who supported us in conducting pilot surveys prior to the main survey.

Notes

1. The leaving certificate examination takes place at the end of upper secondary education and grades are used as a basis for determining access to third-level education.

2. Gay & Airasian (2003) have recommended that if the population is around 500, 50% should be sampled, whereas if it is 1500, 20% should be adequate. Regarding accuracy, Fowler (1988) has suggested that for a sample of 300, the error is likely to be between three and six per cent, which Creswell (2005) describes as low.