A high school teacher conducted a study about minority middle and high school students’ interest in science. The problem was to find out why African American and Hispanic students were showing very little interest in science. The researcher used four middle school science teachers and nine high school science teachers, all from inner city schools in a big city of the Midwest United States except for one middle school teacher from a nearby suburb. The participants answered a survey questionnaire followed with a face-to-face recorded interview. The findings of the study confirmed that students showed little interest in science due to a myriad of reasons. Overall, the students preferred to work in small groups and to do labs and activities, and did not like to be lectured, to take notes, or to read science materials. This study could be useful to teachers in similar environments with similar populations.
","abstract_html":"<p>A high school teacher conducted a study about minority middle and high school students’ interest in science. The problem was to find out why African American and Hispanic students were showing very little interest in science. The researcher used four middle school science teachers and nine high school science teachers, all from inner city schools in a big city of the Midwest United States except for one middle school teacher from a nearby suburb. The participants answered a survey questionnaire followed with a face-to-face recorded interview. The findings of the study confirmed that students showed little interest in science due to a myriad of reasons. Overall, the students preferred to work in small groups and to do labs and activities, and did not like to be lectured, to take notes, or to read science materials. This study could be useful to teachers in similar environments with similar populations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Makere, Caroline"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Curriculum and Social Inquiry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Sara Efron","Dr. Shaunti Knauth","Dr. Vito Dipinto, Dr. Michael Knapp"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z","subjects":["Critical Race Theory","Latina/Latino Critical Theory","student science interest","eugenics","inner city middle and high schools","Biology","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Education","Evolution","Genetics and Genomics","International and Comparative Education","Life Sciences","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/216","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Sara Efron","Dr. Shaunti Knauth","Dr. Vito Dipinto, Dr. Michael Knapp"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Makere, Caroline"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-01-29T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum and Social Inquiry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Critical Race Theory","Latina/Latino Critical Theory","student science interest","eugenics","inner city middle and high schools","Biology","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Education","Evolution","Genetics and Genomics","International and Comparative Education","Life Sciences","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/216"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A high school teacher conducted a study about minority middle and high school students’ interest in science. The problem was to find out why African American and Hispanic students were showing very little interest in science. The researcher used four middle school science teachers and nine high school science teachers, all from inner city schools in a big city of the Midwest United States except for one middle school teacher from a nearby suburb. The participants answered a survey questionnaire followed with a face-to-face recorded interview. The findings of the study confirmed that students showed little interest in science due to a myriad of reasons. Overall, the students preferred to work in small groups and to do labs and activities, and did not like to be lectured, to take notes, or to read science materials. This study could be useful to teachers in similar environments with similar populations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Minority Middle and High School Students' Interest in Science: An Exploration of Teachers' Perceptions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Sara Efron","Dr. Shaunti Knauth","Dr. Vito Dipinto, Dr. Michael Knapp"],"dc:creator":["Makere, Caroline"],"dc:date.available":["2017-01-29T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["A high school teacher conducted a study about minority middle and high school students’ interest in science. The problem was to find out why African American and Hispanic students were showing very little interest in science. The researcher used four middle school science teachers and nine high school science teachers, all from inner city schools in a big city of the Midwest United States except for one middle school teacher from a nearby suburb. The participants answered a survey questionnaire followed with a face-to-face recorded interview. The findings of the study confirmed that students showed little interest in science due to a myriad of reasons. Overall, the students preferred to work in small groups and to do labs and activities, and did not like to be lectured, to take notes, or to read science materials. This study could be useful to teachers in similar environments with similar populations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/216"],"dc:subject":["Critical Race Theory","Latina/Latino Critical Theory","student science interest","eugenics","inner city middle and high schools","Biology","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Education","Evolution","Genetics and Genomics","International and Comparative Education","Life Sciences","Science and Mathematics Education","Secondary Education"],"dc:title":["Minority Middle and High School Students' Interest in Science: An Exploration of Teachers' Perceptions"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum and Social Inquiry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z"}