An investigation of sex differences in attitude towards physics

Abstract

Increasing research have documented sex differences in attitude towards physics of male and female secondary school students. In fact, physics is said to enjoy very low rating among girls. If this trend is not checked, the dream of having more talented females to meet the manpower levels needed to aid science and technological growth and development might be jeopardized. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate whether sex differences still exist in attitude towards physics. An attitude towards Physics Questionnaire was administered on 460 senior secondary II physics students from twelve schools in Oyo-State. Data analysis revealed that both male and female students were positively disposed to physics, even though females were better disposed than males. There was no significant difference between the attitudes of both males and females towards physics. Attempt should be made however to investigate sex differences in students' attitude to other science subjects.

African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 6 2004: 29-33