The 'Choosing Science?' Project Phase One: Science Teachers' Perceptions of the Influences on Enrolment Declines

This paper presents preliminary findings from Phase One of 'Choosing Science?', an Australian study investigating influences on high school students' decisions about enrolling in senior science courses. Phase One comprised a survey of science teachers (N=589) about their perceptions of the causes behind declines in science enrolments since the early 1990s. The findings indicate that teachers perceive the declines to be principally due to student characteristics, rather than those of teachers, the curriculum or science careers. In particular, teachers considered students' preferences for less academically demanding courses or those requiring less rigor than conventionally found in science courses to have contributed most to the decline. Students were also seen to prefer courses they regard as more interesting than science. Teacher responses to the survey provided directions for investigation in Phase Two of 'Choosing Science?' (a national survey of Year 10 students), and a basis for comparing the perceptions of students and their teachers.