Why do students choose to pursue a physics major?

• Susan C. White ^[1]
  1. [1] American Institute of Physics

     American Institute of Physics

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 62, Nº. 6, 2024, pág. 542
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Almost 70% of students earning a physics bachelor’s degree said that informal exposure to science was one of the factors that influenced their decision to pursue the degree. Almost 60% indicated that a high school physics teacher or class had influenced them. We asked students who earned a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2021 and 2022 what influenced their decision to study physics, and we offered a list of possibilities. Respondents could indicate more than one influence. Men were more likely than women to be influenced by science literature, personal hobbies, movies or television programs, notable people in science, and Internet content. Women were more likely to be impacted by a college or university professor or class. For the other options, there were no statistically significant gender differences.