Figure 17-2. Percentage of eighth-grade students who liked learning science, based on the Students Like Learning Science Index, by sex and country: 2011
* p < .05. Percentage is significantly different from the percentage of students of the same sex in the United States.
NOTE: The difference between female and male students is statistically significant in all countries except Saudi Arabia. The Students Like Learning Science Index is based on eighth-grade students' reports of the extent of their agreement with the following statements: (1) I enjoy learning science; (2) I wish I did not have to study science; (3) Science is boring; (4) I learn many interesting things in science; and (5) I like science. This indicator presents data only for students in the highest category: like learning science. The other categories (not shown) are somewhat like learning science and do not like learning science. Germany and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) did not participate in TIMSS 2011 at eighth grade. Data for Indonesia or the Russian Federation are not available because while these countries did administer TIMSS 2011 at the eighth grade, these survey questions were not asked. In these countries, science is taught as individual subjects (e.g., biology, chemistry).
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2011.