Scope
The scope of the study was limited to the key decision period in Year 10 when students choose their subjects for study in Years 11 and 12. Year 10 and 11 students provided information on how subjects were chosen and how these students viewed Science. Both Year groups were studied in order to determine if students provided differing views of their decision-making process before and after making their choices. Adults within the school environment who were in a position to inform students on subject choice were also asked to about their perceptions of how students chose subjects.
The scope of the study is shown diagrammatically in the figure to the left. The area labelled ‘IN’ lists the specific areas that are the focus of the Fresh Minds study. The area labelled ‘Influencing Factors’ shows those factors that lead to the formation of student perceptions and are relevant to the student subject choice decision. These influencing factors are within the scope of this study but are not its primary focus. Items excluded from the scope of this study are labelled ‘OUT’ in the figure. This study does not consider two factors that may impact student subject choices: socio-economic status, and adults who impact student behaviour and are external to the school environment. These factors were excluded as they represent large areas of enquiry requiring resources not available for this doctoral study. Several other factors that impact on the supply of scientists and scientifically literate people after students leaving school were also excluded.
Students are not the only ‘customers’ of the education system; teachers, parents, government, employers also are vitally interested in outcomes - in fact an argument can be made for any Australian being a stakeholder. Nevertheless, in the interest of containing this piece of work the customer will be considered to be the classroom student. However, it should be noted that analysis of the choice environment will require determining the influence these stakeholders have on students’ decisions.
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