What Really Makes Secondary School Students 'Want' to Study Physics?

This paper reports on a mixed-methods study with high school students. The study focused on the reasons they give with regard to "what they find interesting about their physics lesson" and "what makes them want to study their physics lesson" during a school year. The sample consisted of 219 students, who attended public high schools, located in various geographical regions of Greece. Journal entries made by all students--that is, students from junior high and senior high schools--were content-analyzed through a grounded theory approach. A total of eight categories were identified. Quantitative differences between these categories, and between the two groups of students, were also identified. Even though some of the identified categories are well-known motivators in science education, three specific categories deserve particular attention: "connection to one's own self", "purpose", and "utility". Notwithstanding the limitations of the present research design (i.e., volunteer sample, lack of standardization in students' and especially in teachers' activities), these categories, along with two quantitative indicators--that is, number of journal entries and student percentages--challenge us to rethink what makes the ideas of science, especially those of physics, meaningful or simply relevant to the life of the students.