Pupils' Interest Before, During, and After a Curriculum Dealing With Ecological Topics and its Relationship With Achievement

Abstract

We surveyed interest in ecology prior, during, and after an ecological unit of 14 lessons (“Ecosystem Lake”). Achievement was assessed in a pretest (T-1), a class test (T-2; used for grading), and a retention test (T-3). We found a main effect of stratification on the level of interest in ecology after the educational unit (pupils from the highest stratification were more interested) but not of gender. As expected, the pre-treatment interest scores showed a highly significant influence on the post-treatment scores. Apart from interest prior to the study, situational interest measured during the educational unit also significantly influenced interest after the treatment. Positive correlations between all 3 interest scales and between interest scales and achievement scores were found. Thus, both predisposition and situational interest influence achievement. However, using regression revealed that prior interest had the strongest impact on achievement.

Acknowledgements

This study was an integral part of a major subject integrative research project with altogether four subjects: Biology, Physics, German Language, and Pedagogical Psychology. We appreciate the cooperation of the colleagues within this research pool: H. Melenk, P. Mayring, C. v. Rhöneck, M. Laukenmann, M. Gläser-Zikuda, U. Maier, K. Metz, and S. Fuß. Additionally, we are very grateful to all participating teachers and pupils and to J. Pfaff for essential help in the literature search. This study was funded by the Ministry of Education (MKS), the Ministry of Research and Arts (MWK), and the University of Education Ludwigsburg (PHL).

We are especially grateful to the two anonymous reviewers, who provided very valuable comments on a first draft that clarified the presentation.