Camilla Schreiner’s research while affiliated with The Research Council of Norway and other places

This is part 2 of the final report from ROSE (The Relevance of Science Education), a comparative study of 15 year old students' perceptions of science and science education. Here we present ROSE in more detail and present in-depth examples of how the date have been analyzed. The basis for this report is Camilla Schreiner's PhD (2006). We describe the background and rationale of ROSE, the chronology and details of the development of the ROSE instrument. We also discuss the underlying methodological considerations and theoretical perspective, in particular related to youth in late modernity. This report can also serve as an example on how data from studies like ROSE may be approached to give in-depth analysis and descriptions of different types of students based on the responses they give in ROSE – and in similar studies. The focus here is on the sample of Norwegian students, but international comparisons based on the same statistical methods are also included, based on two master degrees in science education, Fredrik Jensen (2008) and Fazilat Ullah (2008). One chapter is written by Maria Vetleseter Bøe, now (2019) now associate professor at the University of Oslo . Note that literature reviews and other chapters have not been updated

This document is part 1 (of 2) of the final report of the ROSE project (the Relevance of Science Education), a project that has developed over a period of some 15 years and which directly and indirectly has involved partners from around 80 countries. We briefly describe the rationale, history and development of the project .We give an overview of the impact of the study and how results have been used by a multitude of stakeholders and organizations. We also provide examples of main findings and suggest what implications might be drawn regarding curricula and educational policy. The ROSE instrument is given in an Appendix.

Can school science become more attractive, interesting and meaningful for young people of today? The point of departure for raising this question is the decline in enrolment in studies in science and technology (S&T) that is apparent in many OECD countries. We draw on perspectives from literature on late modernity and identity construction and we use data from the international comparative project ROSE (the Relevance of Science Education) to shed light on how young people perceive S&Tand some of their criteria for their educational choices. Our focus is on the Nordic situation, but we also provide comparisons with other cultures. We show that young people in all kinds of countries share a positive view on the importance S&T for society and the future development. We note, however, some remarkable differences when it comes to the willingness to engage in S&T-related studies and careers. We use Norwegian data to illustrate the values and concerns that are important for the choice of future jobs for young people. We suggest that there is a mismatch between these values and the values that young people meet in science at school. We argue that science curricula must change to accommodate some of the values of the young generation.

This article presents the comparative project ROSE (The Relevance of Science Education) on how 15-year old learners relate to science (and technology). The focus of ROSE is on the learners’ science and technology (S&T) related prior experiences, their interests, their future plans, their attitudes to and perceptions of school science and science in society, their views on the environmental challenges and questions about priorities for their future job.

Young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a matter of international concern. Studies and careers that require physical sciences and advanced mathematics are most affected by the problem and women in particular are under‐represented in many STEM fields. This article views international research about young people’s relationships to, and participation in, STEM subjects and careers through the lens of an expectancy‐value model of achievement‐related choices. In addition it draws on sociological theories of late‐modernity and identity, which situate decision‐making in a cultural context. The article examines how these frameworks are useful in explaining the decisions of young people – and young women in particular – about participating in STEM and proposes possible strategies for removing barriers to participation.

Modern societies become more and more dominated and driven by science and technology (S&T). Such societies need a highly skilled workforce for a competitive global knowledge-based market. Furthermore, democratic societies need broadly educated citizens who can understand current S&T-based challenges and who can take part in democratic decisions. In the EU and many other countries there is widespread concern about a fall in the recruitment to studies and careers in S&T. In order to face these challenges, we need to know how young learners perceive S&T in society; we need to know their attitudes, sentiments and priorities. This chapter gives a brief glimpse into this situation by presenting some data from ROSE, an international comparative research project. The data indicate that young students actually have great respect for and many positive attitudes towards S&T. This does, however, not imply that the want to choose S&T as studies and careers. The data also shows great differences between girls and boys in attitudes, values and priorities. Any attempt to redress the situation will need to take such knowledge into account in order to be successful