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E: Pupil questionnaires

E.1 The questionnaire and the respondents

Survey pupils were invited to complete a questionnaire designed to explore their experience of, and attitude towards, Science and Science learning. To minimise the burden on individual pupils, whilst still allowing a broad range of questions to be asked at each stage, four different questionnaire versions were created (see Annex III for details). Most questions were common across versions with a smaller set being unique to the individual version. The four different questionnaires were randomly allocated to pupils and in total almost 39,000 completed questionnaires were returned, with between 8,000 and 10,500 pupils completing each version ². Given these very large sample sizes almost all subgroup differences, even when very small, reach statistical significance. Therefore, where comment on differences is offered, this will be in terms of possible educational significance, since statistical significance can be assumed.

E.2 Self-assessments in Science

Among the questions put to pupils, as the last question in one of the versions, was one that focused on self-assessment in Science. Pupils were asked, "How good do you think you are at Science?". To maintain consistency with previous SSA surveys, the following rating scale was used: 'exceptional/very good', 'good/above average', 'average' and 'poor', with 'don't know' also a possibility. The detailed results are given in Table E1a.

Among those pupils who offered an assessment of their Science skills, half or more in every stage gave themselves one or other of the two top ratings, i.e. 'exceptional/very good' or 'above average/good', the majority of the rest rating themselves as 'average'. There was a marked decrease in the proportion of positive ratings from P3 to P5 to P7/S2, but no decline between P7 and S2. The proportion of pupils who answered 'don't know' when asked to offer a judgement of their own ability in Science fell from just under 20 per cent at P3, to just over 10 per cent at P5 and around 5 per cent at P7/S2.

With the exception of P3, boys tended to rate themselves more highly than girls. For example, at P5 around 20 per cent of the boys compared with just over 15 per cent of the girls rated themselves as 'exceptional/very good'. Corresponding figures at P7 were 11 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, and at S2 15 per cent versus 7 per cent. These gender gaps in self perceptions of ability in Science would seem justified by the pupils' survey test results, at least as far as Science knowledge and understanding is concerned, given the gender differences that emerged in favour of boys (see Chapter B).

To explore any possible deprivation influence on self assessments in Science, pupils were categorised as 'most deprived' if they lived in one of the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland (based on the 2004 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation), other pupils being labelled 'less deprived'. At all stages the most deprived pupils were more likely than the less deprived pupils to feel unable to rate themselves for Science ability at all. There was also a tendency among the primary pupils, at all stages, for the most deprived pupils to give themselves the highest rating more frequently than the less deprived pupils: overall, 28 per cent compared with 22 per cent rated themselves as 'exceptional/very good'.

Between P7 and S2 the differences between most deprived and less deprived pupils reversed. At S2, proportionally fewer of the most deprived pupils compared with the less deprived pupils rated themselves positively with around 45 per cent of the most deprived pupils rating themselves 'exceptional/very good' or 'above average/good' in Science compared to around 55 per cent for less deprived pupils.

Pupils' own ratings in Science were compared with their knowledge and understanding results. At P3, there was a wide gap between SSA results and pupils' self assessment although this gap narrowed with increasing stage, until at P7/S2 perceptions and SSA results were reasonably similar. Chart E1 illustrates the pattern of correspondence between the pupils' self assessments and their survey results - the underlying details are given in Table E1b.

Chart E1
Pupils' self assessments in Science in relation to their SSA test results
(% pupils giving the indicated response: 1,606 P3 pupils (500-600 per level), 1,765 P5 (1,566, or, 89% at Levels A or B), 1,902 P7 (1,365, or 72%, at Level B), 1,504 S2 (1,095, or 73%, at Level C)

Chart E1 illustrates the gap at P3 between pupils' self assessments in Science and their actual levels of achievement. Whether working at Level B, Level A or below Level A, over 80 per cent of the P3 pupils rated themselves as above average or better in Science. However, in the later stages the association between SSA level and self assessments became clearer. At S2, among pupils working at Levels D, E and F almost 80 per cent rated themselves as 'excellent/very good' or 'good/above average'. Ratings of 'excellent/very good' fell consistently from just over 30 per cent of pupils at Level F to 20 per cent of pupils at Level E to around 15 per cent of pupils at Level D, to under 10 per cent of S2 pupils who were not well established at Level D. Among those S2 pupils not achieving Level D, over half rated themselves as average or poor in Science.

E.3 Confidence in Science

Each questionnaire version presented a set of statements about Science lessons, which pupils were asked to rate in terms of its frequency in their experience. Five of the thirty seven statements focused on confidence in Science:

• I feel confident when conducting experiments/investigations and learning about Science
• I feel confident when talking about Science with my teacher
• I feel confident when talking about Science in small groups
• I feel confident when talking about Science in front of the rest of my class
• I feel confident when talking about Science with adults other than my teacher.

The evidence shows that pupils felt confident more frequently when they were conducting experiments, talking about Science with their teachers, or talking about Science in small groups, than when they were talking about Science in front of the class or talking about Science with an adult other than the teacher (Table E2a). For the first three activities between 40 per cent and 55 per cent of pupils answered that they 'very often' felt confident compared with 25 per cent to 35 per cent for the last two.

A stage difference was found in pupils' confidence 'talking about Science in small groups', with P3 and S2 pupils reporting less confidence than pupils in P5 and P7. Forty-five per cent of P3 pupils and just under 55 per cent of S2 pupils responded that they 'very often' felt confident in this activity, compared with around 60 per cent of P5 and P7 pupils. This finding is in line with the field officer judgements of collaborative group problem-solving discussions reported in Chapter D, where it was found that P5 and P7 groups generally performed better than P3 and S2 groups.

Generally, a higher proportion of boys than girls reported that they 'very often' felt confident in Science especially at S2 (Table E2b). The strongest gender differences emerged for 'conducting experiments/investigations and learning Science' and 'talking about Science with my teacher' at S2, where there was a ten to fifteen percentage point difference between the proportions of boys and girls responding 'very often'. There were also gender differences at S2 for 'talking about Science in front of the class' (seven percentage point difference) and 'talking about Science with an adult other than the teacher' (six percentage point difference). However, there was no gender difference for 'talking about Science in small groups'.

E.4 The perceived importance of Science

Two questions probed pupils perception of the importance of Science, with the first focusing on value for future employment: "When you are looking for a job do you think that it will have been useful to have studied Science?". The second considered value for later study in other subjects at school: "Do you think Science is useful for later study in other subjects?". The results are given in Tables E3a and E3b.

There were relatively high proportions of 'don't know' responses to both questions, especially to the first, and particularly among primary pupils (around a third). Despite this, over half of all the primary pupils and almost three-quarters of the S2 pupils agreed that studying Science would benefit them when it came to job hunting. In both sectors boys were more likely to report that they would find Science useful in this respect than girls, although the differences in 'yes' responses were relatively small, at six percentage points for primary pupils and four percentage points for S2. Of the pupils from the most deprived areas, 59 per cent per cent agreed that Science was of value for future jobs compared with 55 per cent of the pupils from less deprived areas. The reverse held at S2, where the proportions were 67 per cent of the 'most deprived' pupils compared to 74 per cent of the 'less deprived'.

There was little difference between primary pupils and S2 pupils when it came to perceptions about the value of Science for later study in other subjects, with around three-quarters of pupils in both sectors responding 'yes' to this question. The only stage difference was that lower proportions of P3 pupils responded 'yes' compared with their older peers, 65 per cent compared with over 75 per cent for older stages. This was because proportionally more of them felt they could not offer an opinion one way or the other, 26 per cent responding 'don't know' against 16 per cent for S2 pupils. Boys and girls showed more similar patterns of response for this aspect than they did for the usefulness of Science for employment. Pupils from less deprived areas in both sectors agreed in slightly higher proportions than pupils from the most deprived areas that Science would serve them well for later study in other subjects.

E.5 Interest, enjoyment and motivation to learn

A number of questions explored pupils' interest in and enjoyment of Science, which might also affect their motivation to learn. The detailed findings are given in Table E4.

A very high proportion of pupils at all stages (80 per cent among P3 and P5 pupils and 70 per cent among P7 and S2 pupils) agreed that they wanted to do well in Science (a 'very often' rating). In terms of pupils' interest in lessons, around 40 per cent of those in P3 and P5 reported that they often had 'interesting topics to find out about', falling to around 20 per cent at P7 and S2. Just under 20 per cent of pupils at each stage agreed that they talked about interesting Science ideas in the news 'very often' in their classes, but around 35 per cent reported that this 'hardly ever' happened. A similar picture emerged for classroom talk about the everyday uses of Science: again around 20 per cent of pupils at all stages agreed that this happened 'very often', with between 25 per cent and 32 per cent recording that it happened 'hardly ever'.

Enthusiasm for and enjoyment of Science tended to decline with increasing stage. For example, the proportion of pupils who indicated that they 'very often' enjoyed Science was over 70 per cent at P3, fell a little to 65 per cent at P5 and then further to just over 45 per cent at P7. At S2, this proportion was 40 per cent. Similarly, the proportion who recorded enjoying reading books about Science 'very often' was relatively high at P3, at just over 55 per cent, but fell to about 40 per cent at P5, to just over 20 per cent at P7 and to just above 10 per cent at S2.

E.6 Topics studied in school Science

In order to investigate the level of commonality in the Science curriculum as taught at each stage, as well as any gender differences that there might be in topic interest and perception of difficulty, pupils were presented with a list of Science topics, and asked whether they had studied the topic in school, whether they were interested in it and whether they found it easy. Topic lists differed across the stages and the results of this enquiry are presented in Tables E5a to E5d.

The P3 topics were:

• the sun, moon, stars and planets
• eye and hair colour
• hearing, seeing, smelling, listening and touching
• where things we buy in the shops come from
• using heat, light and sound
• animals and birds
• plants and seasons
• keeping safe
• litter
• water
• magnets.

With just two exceptions, half or more of the P3 pupils agreed that they had studied the topic in school (Table G5a). For 'eye and hair colour' and 'where things we buy in the shops come from' the proportions were 46 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively. There were no differences in the response patterns of boys and girls as regards topics studied. There were gender differences, though, in topic interest. For the majority of topics, among those pupils who agreed that they had studied the topic in school, higher proportions of girls than boys reported that they found it interesting. Only 'using heat, light and sound', 'magnets', 'animals and birds', 'the sun, moon, stars and planets' and 'where things we buy come from' did not generate any statistically significant gender differences and there were no topics that interested boys more than girls. Girls more than boys found four of the topics 'easy': 'keeping safe', 'litter', 'using heat, light and sound' and 'eye and hair colour'.

At P5, the following topics were listed:

• the solar system
• breathing, eating and blood
• sound and vibration
• solids, liquids and gases
• light and shadow
• extinct animals
• reptiles, mammals, birds and beasties
• flowers, roots and seeds
• batteries and circuits
• friction.

More than half the P5 pupils agreed that they had studied most of these topics in school, with the exceptions of 'extinct animals' and 'friction' (Table E5b). Interestingly, for 'friction' a significant gender difference in claimed topic exposure emerged, in that just under 50 per cent of the boys claimed to have studied the topic in school compared with 40 per cent of the girls. The greatest gender differences in topic interest were for 'flowers, roots and seeds', with 78 per cent of girls interested compared with 60 per cent of the boys, and 'breathing, eating and blood' with 78 per cent of girls and 67 per cent of boys interested. Only for 'batteries and circuits' was there a gender gap in interest in favour of boys large enough to reach statistical significance: 86 per cent of the boys who had studied the topic found it interesting compared with 78 per cent of the girls. Girls in significantly greater proportions than boys found most of the topics 'easy' with the exception of 'batteries and circuits'.

P7 topics were:

• gravity and space
• teeth, stomach and intestines
• different kinds of musical instruments
• rocks, soil and volcanoes
• seeing through lenses
• animals' habitats
• reproduction
• identifying plants
• pollution
• electricity in our homes
• aeroplanes and cars.

More than half of the P7 pupils agreed that they had studied each topic in school (Table E5c), with the exception of 'aeroplanes and cars' (around 40 per cent) and 'seeing through lenses' (33 per cent). Significantly higher proportions of boys than girls recorded studying two of the topics in school. These were 'reproduction', 63 per cent of the boys compared with 57 per cent of the girls, and 'aeroplanes and cars', 46 per cent of the boys compared with 37 per cent of the girls.

Among the pupils who had studied the different topics there were several statistically significant gender differences in interest levels. The topics of greatest interest to girls rather than boys were 'animals' habitats', 86 per cent of girls interested compared with 75 per cent of boys; 'different kinds of musical instruments', 77 per cent of girls and 66 per cent of boys; 'identifying plants', 57 per cent of girls and 46 per cent of boys; and 'teeth, stomach and intestines', 61 per cent of girls and 52 per cent of boys. The topics of greatest interest to boys rather than girls were 'aeroplanes and cars', 83 per cent of boys and 54 per cent of girls; 'rocks, soil and volcanoes', 76 per cent of boys and 63 per cent of girls; 'gravity and space', 77 per cent of boys and 71 per cent of girls; and 'reproduction', 54 per cent of boys and 48 per cent of girls. 'Seeing though lenses' was the only 'neutral' topic in this respect. Significantly higher proportions of girls than boys found 'animal habitats' and 'teeth, stomach and intestines' 'easy', the reverse holding for 'aeroplanes and cars'. There were no statistically significant differences for other topics.

The S2 topic list was as follows:

• how does the sun and moon affect our calendar and tides
• cells and tissues
• sound
• elements
• how light travels
• ecosystems
• photosynthesis
• using energy and the environment
• circuits
• acids and alkalis.

At S2, three-quarters or more of the pupils reported that they had studied the majority of the listed topics (Table E5d). The two topics least studied were 'ecosystems' and 'how does the sun and moon affect our calendar and tides?', each identified as studied at school by around one-third of the pupils. These same two topics were the only ones where significantly different proportions of boys and girls (35 to 40 per cent of the boys and just under 30 per cent of the girls) reported studying them in school. For four topics - 'sound', 'elements', 'how light travels' and 'circuits' - interest levels were significantly higher among boys than girls, and significantly higher proportions of boys than girls found the topics 'easy'. For three topics - 'cells and tissues', 'ecosystems' and 'photosynthesis' - interest levels were significantly higher among girls than boys, but there were no differences in opinions about easiness.

E.7 Science in the news

It is recognised that topic learning in Science, as in many other subjects, takes place to some extent outside of school as well as within it. Both types of learning contribute to pupils' general levels of Science literacy. To explore this, pupils were presented with a list of Science topics 'that are often in the news', and were asked to indicate whether they had heard of the topic, whether they thought it affected them, and if so why. The detailed results are given in Tables E6a and E6b.

Four topics were presented at P3:

• renewable energy
• exercise and diet
• endangered species
• organic food.

At P5, P7 and S2 the list also included:

• space exploration
• climate change/global warming
• feeding the world
• electronic communication
• genetic engineering, e.g. GM crops
• biotechnology, e.g. using micro-organisms, DNA and genetics
• pollution
• water conservation
• weapons of mass destruction
• carbon trading
• food labelling
• artificial body parts.

Awareness was generally high for the majority of topics, especially at S2, where 70 to 80 per cent of the pupils noted that they had heard of ten of the sixteen topics in the news (Table E6a). 'Carbon trading' was the least familiar topic, although even here almost 40 per cent of P5 pupils had heard of it, rising to just under 50 per cent at P7 and to just over 55 per cent at S2. Among the topics that were familiar to most pupils, awareness tended to increase with stage. Exceptions were 'exercise and diet', which decreased in familiarity from 80 per cent in P3/P5 to slightly below 70 per cent in P7/S2; and 'climate change', 'pollution' and 'electronic communication', which remained stable across stages, with between 65 per cent and 75 per cent of pupils having heard of them.

At S2, responses suggest that boys were generally better informed than girls about Science from the media. Significantly higher proportions of boys than girls had heard of most of the topics. This was also the case at P3 for 'renewable energy' and 'endangered species', and at P5 for 'renewable energy' , 'space exploration', 'genetic engineering', 'weapons of mass destruction' and 'biotechnology' (except for 'renewable energy', these topics were not explored at P3). Apart from 'weapons of mass destruction' where a higher proportion of boys had heard of the topic, there were only small gender differences in awareness at P7.

Among the pupils who had heard of the various topics, the proportions who thought the topic affected them were generally very low at all stages, at under 20 per cent for all but three topics, falling further to around 5 per cent for 'space exploration', 'genetic engineering', 'biotechnology' and 'carbon trading' (Table E6b). The three exceptions were 'exercise and diet', 'climate change' and 'pollution', for each of which proportions of pupils perceiving a personal impact reached around 30 per cent (20 per cent for 'pollution' at S2).

At S2, girls in significantly higher proportions than boys felt that the following topics affected them: 'exercise and diet', 35 per cent of girls and 28 per cent of boys; 'endangered species', 12 per cent of girls and 7 per cent of boys; 'feeding the world', 13 per cent of girls and 6 per cent of boys; and 'pollution', 23 per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys, while significantly higher proportions of boys than girls (16 per cent of boys and 11 per cent of girls) felt that 'weapons of mass destruction' affected them. There were no other gender differences in this respect.

E.8 Learning activities in Science lessons

Pupils at all stages were presented with a list of different classroom learning activities, and were asked to indicate how frequently they engaged in each of these in Science lessons. Detailed results are given in Tables E7a, E7b, E7c and E7d while the general picture is illustrated in Chart E2.

The most commonly reported activity was 'with the whole class being taught together', which was reported as happening 'during most lessons' by over 60 per cent of primary pupils and over 70 per cent of S2 pupils (Table E7a). 'Completing worksheets' was reported as occurring 'during most lessons' by just over 50 per cent of primary pupils compared with just under 40 per cent of S2 pupils, while 'copying down information about Science' was reported to be this frequent by just under 40 per cent of primary pupils, and over 60 per cent of S2 pupils.

Experiments and investigations were more common at S2 than in the primary stages, with 45 per cent of S2 pupils and slightly below 30 per cent of primary pupils reporting this activity 'during most lessons'. Similarly, just under 50 per cent of S2 pupils compared with slightly more than 25 per cent of primary pupils reported that they used Science equipment 'during most lessons'. Pupils also reported reading textbooks or reference books, and making or using diagrams, tables or charts, more frequently in the S2 classroom than in the primary school.

Talking one-to-one with the teacher in Science lessons was reported as more frequent by primary pupils than those at S2, with the reverse holding for whole class teaching. Working with partners or in groups was equally common in both sectors for this subject. Very uncommon activities in both sectors included talking to a visitor about Science, visiting Science centres or other places outside school, and working at a computer.

Chart E2
Learning activities in the Science classroom
(% pupils responding 'during most lessons': 30,404 P3/P5/P7 pupils, 7,871 S2 pupils)

There were some stage differences within the primary school (Table E7b). In particular, talking one-to-one with the teacher and working quietly on their own became less frequent activities with increasing age, whereas being taught as a class, copying down information about Science, working in the school grounds, and talking with a visitor about Science became more frequent, according to the pupils.

The same enquiry was included in the teachers' questionnaire ( Chapter F). While there was very general agreement between pupils and teachers about the relative frequency of the different activities, the pupils tended to rate most class activities as being more frequent than their teachers did. The biggest discrepancy was for copying down information about Science at S2, where over 60 per cent of the pupils responded 'during most lessons' compared with just over 20 per cent of the teachers.

E.9 Focus, structure and support in Science lessons

A number of the statements about Science lessons asked pupils to rate the frequency of various different approaches to teaching and learning, including factual information transfer, experimenting/investigating and problem-solving. Additional statements focused on the structure of teaching/learning and on teacher support, including assessment. Detailed results are presented in tables E8a and E8b.

More than half the pupils at each stage reported that they 'very often' learned a lot of facts about Science in their lessons, while 40-50 per cent across the stages agreed that they 'very often' solved problems (Table E8a). Pupils also reported doing experiments and investigations quite often, although less frequently at the primary stages, where around a third of pupils answered 'very often', than at S2, where more than half answered this way. Across the stages, 40-50 per cent of pupils agreed that they 'very often' reported the findings of their investigations and experiments to each other. Pupils less frequently planned their own investigations, around a third at each stage noting this happened 'hardly ever'.

Around 70 per cent of pupils at every stage agreed that they were 'very often' expected to work hard in their Science classes. In the primary classroom, at every stage, around 80 per cent of pupils reported that the teacher 'very often' started lessons by telling them what they were going to learn about. At S2 the proportion was lower, but still high at just under 60 per cent. Between 30 per cent and 45 per cent of pupils 'very often' had the chance to discuss their own ideas in class, while 35-45 per cent reported that their teacher 'very often' asked them to explain their answers to questions and helped them to understand how they might do better in Science. Around 45 per cent of pupils at every stage agreed that their corrected work 'very often' showed them where they had gone wrong. Quite low proportions of pupils discussed their progress in Science with their peers - 40 per cent answered 'hardly ever' at P3 rising to over 50 per cent at other stages.

Homework was not particularly common in the primary sector, with 55-70 per cent reporting that they were 'hardly ever' given any in Science. At S2, 60 per cent of pupils had Science homework at least 'sometimes'. Pupil assessment in Science took the form of levels or grades more frequently at S2 than in the primary school, with just over 30 per cent of S2 pupils indicating 'very often' compared with 20 per cent or fewer primary pupils. Around a fifth of primary pupils, on the other hand, responded 'don't know' here.

E.10 Out-of-class activities

Two sets of enquiries focused on pupils' activities outside of their classrooms, some of which would contribute to their Science learning. In the first enquiry, pupils were asked whether they attended various different kinds of clubs or other activities after school, of particular types (sports, drama, dance, Science, etc.). In the second enquiry, in a different questionnaire version, pupils were presented with a list of activities that they might engage in outside of school, alone, or with family or friends, and asked to indicate how often they spent time involved in each of them. The results of these enquiries are given in Tables E9a and E9b.

Generally, participation in most activities was highest at P3 and P5 and fell in popularity with increasing age. About 90 per cent of primary pupils reported participating in at least one club or similar activity after school, with the proportion dropping slightly at S2, to under 85 per cent. The listed activity of greatest relevance to Science learning was membership of Science clubs. Around 30 per cent of P3 and P5 pupils were participating in Science clubs in or outside school, but the figure fell to around 10 per cent at P7 and down further to 5 per cent at S2. By far the most popular activity at all stages was sport, with 20-40 per cent of pupils participating in an after school sports club (Table E9a), well over half participating in sport outside school, and many doing both. Young people's organisations outside school attracted almost half the P3 and P5 pupils, falling to 35 per cent at P7 and 20 per cent at S2.

Of all the specific activities listed in the second enquiry, 'playing sport or keeping fit' proved the most popular in terms of reported frequency of engagement, with around 60-70 per cent of pupils at all stages responding 'very often' (Table E9b). This is in line with the general finding above for sport. Following fairly closely in popularity was 'playing computer games' with around 40 per cent responding 'very often' at every stage.

'Using the internet to find things out' and 'texting or emailing' were the only activities which became increasingly popular with age. For example, the proportions of pupils responding 'very often' to internet searching increased from just over 25 per cent at P3, through 35 per cent at P5 and over 45 per cent at P7, to over 50 per cent at S2. Corresponding proportions for texting/emailing were around 15 per cent at P3, rising to 25 per cent at P5 and to 45 per cent at P7, finally arriving at 65 per cent at S2. Typically, higher proportions of P3 pupils compared with other stages checked 'don't know' for most activities.

E.11 Detailed results for pupil questionnaires

Table E1a
Pupils' self assessments in Science
(% giving indicated responses: 2,351 P3 pupils, 2,521 P5, 2,563 P7, 1,967 S2)

Sector, stage, gender and deprivation differences are all statistically significant.

Table E1b
Pupils' self assessments in Science by test-based level
(% pupils at each level giving indicated response)

Table E2a
Confidence when doing or talking about Science
(% giving indicated response: 9,746 P3 pupils, 10,257 P5, 10,486 P7, 7,932 S2)

All sector and stage differences in distributions are statistically significant. The only pattern of educational significance, however, is that for 'talking about Science in small groups'.

Table E2b
Confidence when doing or talking about Science: by gender
(% giving indicated response: 9,746 P3 pupils, 10,257 P5, 10,486 P7, 7,932 S2)

Virtually all the differences in gender response distributions are statistically significant.

Table E3a
Perceived importance of Science for future jobs
(% giving indicated responses: 2,255 P3 pupils, 2,337 P5, 2,530 P7, 1,911 S2)

Sector, stage and gender differences are all statistically significant, as is the deprivation difference at S2.

Table E3b
Perceived importance of Science for later study in other subjects
(% giving indicated responses: 2,351 P3 pupils, 2,521 P5, 2,563 P7, 1,967 S2)

Sector, stage and deprivation differences are statistically significant, as is the gender difference among primary pupils.

Table E4
Science interest, enjoyment and learning motivation
(% giving indicated response: 9,854 P3 pupils, 10,327 P5, 10,544 P7, 8,021 S2)

All stage differences are statistically significant.

Table E5a
Science topics studied in school: P3
(% pupils answering 'yes': 2,481 pupils - 1,276 boys, 1,205 girls)

* Topics are ordered in terms of decreasing degree of exposure in school Science.

** These are the proportions of pupils answering 'yes' among those that agreed they had studied the topic in school.

There are no gender differences in proportions agreeing to have studied the various topics in school. Statistically significant gender differences in interest level emerged for all topics except 'Using heat, light and sound', 'Magnets', 'Animals and birds', 'The sun, moon, stars and planets' and 'Where things we buy come from'. Significantly higher proportions of girls than boys found the following topics 'easy': 'Keeping safe', 'Litter', 'Using heat, light and sound', 'Eye and hair colour'.

Table E5b
Science topics studied in school: P5
(% pupils answering 'yes': 2,473 pupils - 1,291 boys, 1,182 girls)

* Topics are ordered in terms of decreasing degree of exposure in school Science.

** These are the proportions of pupils answering 'yes' among those that agreed they had studied the topic in school.

The gender difference for school exposure to 'friction' is statistically significant. Statistically significant gender differences in topic interest emerged in all cases except 'friction', 'solids, liquids and gases' and 'the solar system'; only for 'batteries and circuits' was the gender difference in interest in favour of the boys. Girls in significantly greater proportions than boys found most of the topics 'easy'.

Table E5c
Science topics studied in school: P7
(% pupils answering 'yes': 2,568 pupils - 1,277 boys, 1,291 girls)

* Topics are ordered in terms of decreasing degree of exposure in school Science.

** These are the proportions of pupils answering 'yes' among those that agreed they had studied the topic in school.

According to the pupils, there were statistically significant differences in topic exposure in school Science between boys and girls for 'reproduction' and 'aeroplanes and cars'. There were statistically significant differences in topic interest between boys and girls for all topics except 'seeing through lenses'. Significantly higher proportions of girls than boys found 'animal habitats' 'easy', the reverse holding for 'aeroplanes and cars'.

Table E5d
Science topics studied in school: S2
(% pupils answering 'yes': 1,871 pupils - 897 boys, 974 girls)

* Topics are ordered in terms of decreasing degree of exposure in school Science.

** These are the proportions of pupils answering 'yes' among those that agreed they had studied the topic in school.

Significantly higher proportions of boys than girls claimed to have studied two of the topics in school: 'How does the sun and moon affect our calendar and tides' and 'ecosystems'. For four topics - 'sound', 'elements', 'how light travels' and 'circuits' - interest levels were significantly higher among boys than girls, and significantly higher proportions of boys than girls found the topics 'easy'. For three topics - 'cells and tissues', 'ecosystems' and 'photosynthesis' - interest levels were significantly higher among girls than boys, but there were no differences in opinions about easiness.

Table E6a
Science in the news: 'have heard of the topic'
(% pupils answering 'yes': 2,477 P3 pupils, 2,594 P5, 2,667 P7, 2,017 S2 - roughly even gender mix)

Table E6b
Science in the news: 'affects me'
(% answering 'yes': pupil numbers vary according to topic - see Table G6a)

Table E7a
Frequency of activities in Science lessons: by sector
(% pupils giving indicated responses: 30,404 P3/P5/P7 pupils, 7,871 S2 pupils)

Sector differences are statistically significant in every case.

Table E7b
Frequency of activities in Science lessons: by primary stage
(% pupils giving indicated responses: 9,741 pupils at P3, 10,244 P5, 10,419 P7)

All stage differences are statistically significant.

Table E7c
Frequency of activities in Science lessons: by gender
(% pupils giving indicated responses: 30,404 P3/P5/P7 pupils - 15,378 boys, 15,026 girls; 7,871 S2 pupils - 3,959 boys, 3,912 girls)

In most cases there are statistically significant distribution differences between boys and girls (given the very high sample sizes). The following are the few at S2 that might have educational significance: mentioned as more frequent by boys than girls - 'making things to do with Science', 'writing in own words about Science', 'visiting Science centres or other places outside school', 'handling real objects from outside the classroom to do with Science'; mentioned as more frequent by girls than boys - 'with the whole class being taught together' and 'copying down information about Science'.

Table E7d
Frequency of activities in Science lessons: by deprivation
(% pupils giving indicated responses: 30,390 P3/P5/P7 pupils - 5,444 most deprived, 24,946 less deprived; 7,871 S2 pupils - 1,452 most deprived, 6,419 less deprived)