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4 AUTHORS, INCLUDING:
Kalle Juuti
Veijo Meisalo
University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
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Introduction
Many studies have shown that interest-triggered learning
activity leads to a higher degree of deep-level learning
(Krapp, 2002). Interest is a relationship between an individual
and an object. Most researchers differentiate between individual and situational interests (Krapp, Hidi and Renninger,
1992). Individual interest is understood to develop gradually
and affect ones knowledge and values over time, while situational interest appears suddenly as a response to something in
the environment and is more emotional in nature (Hidi, 1990).
Situational interest is thought to have only short-term impact,
whereas individual interest is believed to be more stable.
The general view of school education is that pupils knowledge of a school subject is acquired in the classroom within
varying educational settings organised by the teachers. Very little importance is attached to childrens out-of-school experiences. Informal learning may occur at home, in everyday situations like interaction with friends, watching TV, reading books
or magazines, in various hobbies and junior organisations, as
well as in institutions like museums and zoos. Out-of-school
activities and experiences in varied learning environments may
enhance childrens interest in school subjects, too. According
to a contextual view of learning in informal contexts, the
engagement of the learner to learning depends on personal,
physical and sociocultural contexts (Braud and Reiss, 2004).
Much research in science education has revealed that
pupils are usually more interested in biology than other science
subjects (Fairbrother, 2000; Osborne, 2003). Gender is an
important factor relating to pupils interests and attitudes
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Results
Eight factors describing the pupils main interest contexts in
biology explained 53% of the extraction sums of the squared
loadings (Tables 1 and 2, overleaf). Seven factors that
described different out-of-school activities explained 52% of
the extraction sums of the squared loadings (Tables 3 and 4).
The number of items in the interest context factors varied
between five and eight and in experience factors between
two and eight. The reliability index of Chronbachs a varied
between 0.78 and 0.90 for the interest context factors (Table 2)
and between 0.77 and 0.89 for the out-of-school experience
factors (Table 4).
Each interest-context factor was named according to the
loaded items, emphasising the highest loadings and common
contents of the factor items. The interest-context factors were
categorised subjectively as general biology or human biology/
health education (Table 2). The out-of-school experience factors (Table 3) were named according to the activities they
described (Table 4).
The factor correlation matrices used in the EFA revealed
positive correlations within the interest-context factors (Table
5a) and within the out-of-school experience factors (Table
5b). The highest correlations between the interest-context
factors were found to support the categorisation presented in
Table 2, especially when it came to human biology/health
education. General biology was a more heterogeneous categorisation, and, for instance, IF8 correlated with the factors of
both interest categorisations (Table 5a). As for the out-ofschool experience factors, EF1 science and technology evidently correlated with EF5 design and technology. EF2
nature correlated somewhat with other factors, but the correlation was lowest with EF3 computers. Instead, EF3 correlated clearly with EF6 mobile phones.
The gender difference was always statistically significant
(two-tailed t-test; t=5.2-34.4, df=3548-3624, p<0.001), when
calculated from the scores of different interest context factors.
However, the effect size of the gender difference was large
only in the interest contexts of basic processes in biology
(d=0.95; Mboys>Mgirls) and personal appearance and fitness
(d=1.08; Mgirls>Mboys). The effect size of the gender difference
was medium (d=0.59; Mgirls>Mboys) in the interest context
of common health and illness. Girls liked applied biology,
zoology and genetics and evolution more than boys did, but
in these cases the effect size of the difference was small
(d<0.5). Boys were more interested in human body in
extreme conditions, but the effect size of this difference was
also small (d=0.18).
As for the out-of-school experiences, there was no significant
gender difference in the experience of caring for farm animals
(FE4). In the other factors, a significant gender difference
(Mboys>Mgirls) was found in using computers (EF3, two-tailed
t-test; t =2.8, df=3326, p<0.01). In the other experience factors,
the difference was even more significant (two-tailed t-test,
t=16.3-39.4, df=2961-3606, p<0.001). The power of gender
difference was large in the context factors of science and
technology (d=1.37; Mboys>Mgirls) and home economy
(d=1.25; Mgirls>Mboys), and medium (d=0.5-0.8) in the other
factors. Girls had more nature experiences, but experiences
in design and technology were more favoured in the boys
group. In the experience of computers use and caring for
farm animals the effect size was unremarkable.
Out-of-school nature experience was the most important
Volume 40 Number 3, Summer 2006
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125
Table 1. Loadings of interest factors (IF1-IF8) reduced by the EFA from pupils interest items. Loadings < 0.3 are not included.
Items
0.83
0.81
0.76
0.76
0.73
0.68
0.62
Table 2. Factors (IF1-IF8) interpreted as interest contexts in general biology and human biology/health education; percentage of variance explained by extraction sum of squared loadings and
Chronbachs a.
Interest context factors
No.
of items
General biology
IF1: Basic processes in biology
IF4: Applied biology
IF5: Zoology
IF8: Genetics and evolution
Human biology/health education
IF2:Common health and illness
IF3: Personal appearance and fitness
IF6: Human body in extreme
conditions
IF7: Sex and reproduction
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% of
variance
Chronbachs
a
8
8
6
7
24.4
4.2
2.9
1.6
0.90
0.85
0.78
0.80
6
6
10.3
4.9
0.89
0.86
6
5
2.2
2.1
0.81
0.83
IF5
IF6
IF7
IF8
0.35
0.78
0.77
0.72
0.71
0.63
0.54
0.32
0.93
0.78
0.76
0.73
0.52
0.50
0.84
0.73
0.72
0.69
0.64
0.50
0.38
0.37
0.73
0.72
0.62
0.51
0.41
0.73
0.72
0.69
0.48
0.47
0.31
0.76
0.71
0.43
0.38
0.41
0.40
0.40
0.58
0.51
0.47
0.44
0.33
factor correlating with the interest contexts in biology, especially with applied biology and zoology (Table 6).
Experience in caring for farm animals correlated with the
interest context of applied biology as well. Experiences in
science and technology correlated with the interest context
of basic processes in biology, and in this case the coefficient
at the highest (r=0.51) explained 26% of the variance of
either factor. Experience with computers had generally the
lowest correlation (r<0.2) with the other interest contexts.
Discussion
Gender differences
Boys and girls had partially different interests in biology and
they had different out-of-school experiences. Girls were more
interested in human biology and health education, especially
in issues affecting personal appearance and fitness such as
exercise, healthy eating or eating disorders. Boys were more
0.81
0.79
0.76
0.64
0.59
0.54
0.47
Table 4. Factors (EF1-EF7) interpreted as pupils out-ofschool experience factors; percentage of variance explained
by extraction sum of squared loadings and Chronbachs a.
Experience factors
EF1 Science and
technology
EF2 Nature
EF3 Computers
EF4 Farm animals
EF5 Design and technology
EF6 Mobile phones
EF7 Home economy
No. of
items
8
7
5
5
5
3
2
Chronbachs
% of
variance
a
15.9
18.0
7.9
2.8
3.0
2.4
2.0
0.88
0.77
0.77
0.77
0.84
0.89
0.82
EF4
EF5
EF6
EF7
0.42
0.76
0.68
0.62
0.49
0.49
0.41
0.39
0.75
0.67
0.63
0.51
0.47
0.38
0.83
0.68
0.64
0.64
0.33
0.78
0.66
0.55
0.49
0.40
0.96
0.88
0.80
0.74
IF1
1.00
0.01
-0.05
0.34
0.15
0.36
-0.02
0.29
IF2
IF3
IF4
IF5
IF6
IF7
1.00
0.54
0.35
0.25
0.39
0.41
0.47
1.00
0.41
0.34
0.31
0.51
0.44
1.00
0.48
0.33
0.25
0.34
1.00
0.48
0.29
0.37
1.00
0.28
0.42
1.00
0.21
Table 5b. Factor correlation matrix used in EFA for the out-ofschool experience factors.
Factor
EF1
EF2
EF3
EF4
EF5
EF6
EF7
EF1
1.00
0.12
0.002
0.38
0.47
-0.25
-0.13
EF2
EF3
EF4
EF5
EF6
1.00
0.22
0.32
0.31
0.31
0.48
1.00
-0.19
0.39
0.63
0.35
1.00
0.14
-0.25
0.16
1.00
0.32
0.17
1.00
0.39
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127
Science and
technology
Nature
Computers
Farm animals
Design and
technology
Mobile phone
Home economy
Personal
appearance
and fitness
Applied biology
Zoology
Human body
in extreme
conditions
Sex and
reproduction
Genetics and
evolution
0.51**
0.09**
NS
0.16**
-0.12**
0.26**
0.07**
0.06**
-0.19**
0.29**
NS
0.20**
0.18**
0.39**
-0.06**
0.40**
0.04*
0.39**
0.10**
0.13**
0.19**
0.25**
0.16**
0.06**
-0.04*
0.17**
0.05**
0.12**
-0.04*
0.32**
0.07**
0.08**
0.22**
-0.21**
-0.18**
NS
0.15**
0.29**
-0.11**
0.10**
0.39**
0.10**
-0.06**
0.23**
0.08**
0.13**
0.21**
0.17**
0.09**
0.11**
0.05**
0.12**
0.23**
-0.06**
0.05**
0.27**
JBE
Educational implications
The results of this study indicate that there is a connection
between interest in biology and the out-of-school nature
experiences of Finnish 9th grade pupils. The findings have
several implications. Firstly, when planning biology education
it would be important to know that, on average, boys and
girls may be engaged in different contents and contexts of
biology, with girls being more interested in human biology
and health education and boys being more interested in biological processes. However, teachers should be careful not to
approve of, or reinforce, stereotypical gender roles, which are
likely to lie behind the results of this study as well.
Secondly, to enhance pupils motivation and skills in learning
biology, it would be profitable to connect pupils out-of-school
nature experiences to classroom education. Nature experiences
represent a longer-lasting personal interest and engagement
in learning more about nature and biological phenomena.
Thirdly, it would be important to regularly organise wellplanned outdoor education in primary schools because fieldwork, with its small-scale studies and observations, offers a
more contextual and experiential way to learn, for instance
about ecosystems, than conventional classroom education based
on theory. Situational interest may then gradually develop
into personal interest. Thus learning at zoos, botanical gardens,
science parks or research institutions may enhance pupils
interest in learning more about biology at school, too.
References
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Dawson D (2000). Upper primary boys and girls interest in science:
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