Study: 76% of Munster pupils don’t see point of science at school

According to a survey of more than 1,400 junior cycle students, this sums up prevailing attitudes towards science in the classroom: “I find science extremely hard and I really would drop the subject if I was allowed but I have to do it. I hate science — I’m not any good at the subject at all.”

The responses from 1,427 students from 10 secondary schools in Munster, alongside the views of 77 teachers, shows that while the majority of those questioned believe science is an important subject in general, getting people to engage with it as a subject continues to be a challenge.

The research, conducted by Beulah McManus and submitted to the University of Limerick, suggests that various factors play a role in whether or not a student engages with science as a subject — from the role of teachers and parents, to whether or not any introduction to science at primary level has primed children for the subject at second level.