Girls and physical science: the impact of a scheme of intervention projects on girls' attitudes to physics

Abstract

Abstract The situation in Ireland in relation to the numbers of girls studying physics and chemistry is reviewed. A scheme of intervention projects to reduce the under‐representation of girls in the physical sciences is described. The measured attitudes of students based on a Likert‐type scale is also reported. The effects of a number of factors on those attitudes were investigated. Students in project schools were shown to have similar attitudes to physics to those in the control school indicating the success of the intervention in establishing the teaching of physics and in increasing the numbers of girls who study the subject. Students in the project schools have more positive attitudes in relation to girls' ability in physics, while boys have more positive attitudes to the everyday applications of physics. Students in the co‐educational schools tend to have more negative attitudes and the larger the school the more negative the attitudes of the students. The effect of the changing involvement of the visiting teacher is reported and, in relation to girls' ability, attitudes generally become less positive the longer a school is within the scheme.