Secondary School Students’ Beliefs Towards Learning Physics and Its Influencing Factors

Abstract

Physics is considered as one of the most prevailing and problematic subject by the students in the natural science. Students believe physics as a difficult subject during high school and become more when they reach university. This paper deals with the students' beliefs about physics learning and relations with their practices based on contemporary literatures. Beliefs have generally been perceived through the personal experiences and interactions with immediate environment and setting. The objective of this article is to find out students' beliefs about physics learning and influencing factors and hence, has been reviewed systematically from over seventy different findings done. These beliefs are internally built in a person and can be difficult to alter. These lead us to perceive how students‘physics beliefs can shape their behaviors as to how they relate to learning physics. Student’ beliefs toward physics are both positive and negative. Students who demonstrated positive beliefs tended to enjoy and learn effectively when they clearly understood physics well. Conversely, students with negative attitudes usually put less effort into their learning process. Most students disliked learning physics because it is believed to be difficult. Different factors have been examined from over hundred articles reviews that influence students’ beliefs towards learning physics. These are the students’ self-concept, self-efficacy and confidence contribute highly students’ beliefs towards learning physics and intern affect for success or failure physics subject. Secondly teachers’ personal experiences affect approaches to teaching; experience with schooling and instruction influences beliefs about children’s learning and the role of teacher and formal knowledge in the context of pedagogical knowledge has been found to influence teacher beliefs. Teachers who do not provide support or show patience can have a negative impact on students’ achievement. Studies have also shown that a positive correlation between a disadvantaged school environment and learners’ beliefs towards physics at school. Cultural beliefs also influenced the scientific world in the most of the student’s beliefs in creating misconceptions of students in describing, understanding, interpreting and predicting natural phenomena in physics classroom.

Keywords: students’ belief, physics subject and secondary schools

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-7-05

Publication date: April 30^th 2020