Resumo

GRABER, Wolfgang. German High School Students' Interest in Chemistry: A Comparison between 1990 and 2008. Educ. quím [online]. 2011, vol.22, n.2, pp.134-140. ISSN 0187-893X.

Piaget (1974, p. 131) considers interest a decisive factor in the learning process, he defines interest as the dynamic aspect of assimilation, every process of equilibration is based on an interest. Together with many other authors we also believe that developing interest in a topic is one important pre-condition for self-directed learning as well as an important goal for school learning with regard to life-long learning, out-of-school behavior and choice of profession. These were reasons which have led us to do intense research into students' interest in physics and chemistry as well as in regard to variables influencing that interest. This article focuses on the definition of interest, the quantitative description of students' interest referring to chemistry lessons, and the relationship between factors like achievement, gender, relevance, curriculum, teacher and classroom climate and students' interest. Based on these results we will develop curricula and methodical recommendations. Questionnaire data from 1990 and 2008 of German high school students (grades 8 to 10) are analyzed with SPSS and Lisrel and descriptive results as well as those from factor-, item-, and path analysis will be presented. The calculated model (path analysis) shows the significant interrelationship of cognitive, emotional and value related factors with interest. The descriptive data show interesting gender related differences and development during the past 20 years.

Palavras-chave : chemistry education; interest in chemistry; self-concept.

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