Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study

Using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data, this paper aimed to examine if, and to what extent, demographic factors predict students’ participation in science over the age of 16 (post-16). While all the students participating in this study are attending Australian schools, the co...

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Main Authors: Cooper, Grant, Berry, Amanda, Baglin, James
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: SPRINGER 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88709
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author Cooper, Grant
Berry, Amanda
Baglin, James
author_facet Cooper, Grant
Berry, Amanda
Baglin, James
author_sort Cooper, Grant
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data, this paper aimed to examine if, and to what extent, demographic factors predict students’ participation in science over the age of 16 (post-16). While all the students participating in this study are attending Australian schools, the comprehensiveness of these datasets, together with inclusion of studies from around the world provides a useful reference point for an international audience. Over 7000 students are included in the analysis of this paper. Characteristics of focus in this paper include groups who have been identified as being underrepresented in past studies including Indigenous students, those from lower-socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, sex differences and immigrants. Among the factors tested, Indigenous status was the strongest negative predictor of post-16 science participation. SES was also a relatively strong predictor of post-16 science participation. Compared to students categorised with an Australian-ancestry, first-generation and foreign-background students were more likely to participate in post-16 science. The findings of this study contribute to existing research on debates about equity and trends in science participation.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-887092022-06-20T06:02:35Z Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study Cooper, Grant Berry, Amanda Baglin, James Social Sciences Education & Educational Research Post-16 science participation Equity in science participation Low SES Indigenous Underrepresentation PHYSICS Using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data, this paper aimed to examine if, and to what extent, demographic factors predict students’ participation in science over the age of 16 (post-16). While all the students participating in this study are attending Australian schools, the comprehensiveness of these datasets, together with inclusion of studies from around the world provides a useful reference point for an international audience. Over 7000 students are included in the analysis of this paper. Characteristics of focus in this paper include groups who have been identified as being underrepresented in past studies including Indigenous students, those from lower-socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, sex differences and immigrants. Among the factors tested, Indigenous status was the strongest negative predictor of post-16 science participation. SES was also a relatively strong predictor of post-16 science participation. Compared to students categorised with an Australian-ancestry, first-generation and foreign-background students were more likely to participate in post-16 science. The findings of this study contribute to existing research on debates about equity and trends in science participation. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88709 10.1007/s11165-018-9692-0 English SPRINGER restricted
spellingShingle Social Sciences
Education & Educational Research
Post-16 science participation
Equity in science participation
Low SES
Indigenous
Underrepresentation
PHYSICS
Cooper, Grant
Berry, Amanda
Baglin, James
Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title_full Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title_fullStr Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title_full_unstemmed Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title_short Demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an Australian case study
title_sort demographic predictors of students’ science participation over the age of 16: an australian case study
topic Social Sciences
Education & Educational Research
Post-16 science participation
Equity in science participation
Low SES
Indigenous
Underrepresentation
PHYSICS
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88709