Kjønnsforskjeller i motivasjon, læringsstrategibruk og selvregulering i naturfag

Abstract

The Norwegian school reform “Knowledge Promotion”, implemented from 2006 onwards, focuses on the schools’ responsibilities for fostering student learning strategies. This article reports from an empirical study of high school students’ motivation, learning strategy use and self-regulation in science. An extensive questionnaire was administered to 532 students in five high schools in Oslo. The students (16-17 year olds) attended the first year of the 3-year academic specialization program, where they take a compulsory general science course. The questionnaire also asked the students about their science teacher’s behaviors and about student-teacher interactions. The relationships between teacher behaviors and students’ attitudes and habits are studied in the article. The results show several distinct gender differences. For example, the girls report using memorization strategies more than the boys do in science, while boys emphasize elaboration strategies and critical thinking more.