Degree Name

Master of Science in Education (MSEd)

Semester of Degree Completion

1990

Thesis Director

Henry A. Taitt

Abstract

President Bush recently outlined six national goals for education to be accomplished by the year 2000. One of these goals is that American students must rank first in the world in achievement in science and mathematics. How are these goals to be realized? What are the attitudes of students toward science and mathematics? Is there a critical time for intervention? The attitudes of male and female elementary school children in grades 2 through 6 in rural East Central Illinois toward science oriented occupations were examined in this study involving students (N=364) from 4 East Central Illinois communities. Data has been collected through a writing prompt which was distributed to the students and analyzed by three independent adult readers. The results indicate that the students' interest in science is relatively high at the elementary school level, but females do not envision themselves in science oriented occupations twenty years from now in the same number as males. Since parents and teachers appear to greatly influence vocational choices of young children, it is equally important to educate both groups, so that children are not shortchanged in terms of their future aspirations.

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