Nordic students' interest and self-belief in science

Abstract

Modern society requires people with positive attitudes toward science and who have science-related competences. This article will focus on Nordic students’ enjoyment in learning science, their self-efficacy in solving scientific problems, and their instrumental motivation to learn science. Findings from PISA 2006 and PISA 2015 show an increasing interest in science in most Nordic countries, and more students in all Nordic countries except Denmark indicate that they expect to have a science-related occupation in the future. At the same time, we can see increased gender differences and greater variation in enjoyment and self-beliefs among students. Enjoyment of learning science and science self-efficacy correlate positively with performance, while instrumental motivation and enjoyment of learning science are associated with an increased likelihood that the student expects to have a science-related career. These findings are discussed in relation to changes in society over the past decade in terms of the visibility and use of science and technology.