PUPILS´ ATTITUDES TOWARDS NATURAL SCIENCES AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS WHEN SELECTING A FIELD OF STUDY AT UNIVERSITY

The text yields the results of research which was concentrated on the perception of natural sciences by pupils of basic schools and students at secondary schools in one of the regions of the Czech Republic. The first part of the research focused on basic school pupils' and secondary school students' attitudes towards natural sciences, while the second focused on the understanding of social reality by students of grammar schools who are in the process of selecting their future fields of study at universities. We addressed the issue of how they take decisions and the factors that influence the decision-making process. To identify basic school pupils' and secondary school students' attitudes we utilized the statistics-quantitative method. In the second phase we built on the previous findings and utilized the quantitative method (focus group). The quantitative part of the research demonstrated that pupils consider natural sciences interesting but very challenging. Having taken into account the risks involved when studying natural sciences, most of them rated natural sciences positively. Also, the interest to study nat. sciences is not negligible, however, the occupation of a scientist is little attractive. The interpretation of social participants in science, stereotyping and popularization, the differentiation of three kinds of science – they all have an impact on the decision-making process whose result is university studies. The so-called “school science” influences the decision to study general science. Popularization should aim to bridge the enormous gap between the reality of a scientist and the reality of everyday life. School is the place where the popularization of general science ought to begin. School science should present not only the results of scientific research but also scientists with regard to their everyday life. In pupils' eyes the most important people popularizing science are the teacher and the scientist. It is their approach to science that determines how they present and make science look attractive. The popularization of science should become more systematic and a part of curriculum. It should also be included in the university study programme of future teachers. Pupils need to gain awareness of how they can apply such skills in real/professional life.