Interest In Biology: A Developmental Shift Characterized Using Self-Generated Questions

Why Are We Interested in Interest? Within the science-education community, much thought has been given to the question of “what people should know about science.” In contrast, the question of “what people are interested in knowing about science” is rarely considered. Interest refers to a differential likelihood of investing energy in one set of stimuli rather than another (Csikszentmihalyi & Hermanson, 1995). It is a form of intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable (Ryan & Deci, 2000), in contrast to extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something because it leads to a separable outcome such as praise or avoiding punishment (Vallerand et al., 1992). Interest is a powerful motivator (Deci, 1992), which differs from most other motivational concepts by its content specificity (Krapp, 2002). Although positive relationships have been reported between individual interest and a wide range of indicators of learning (Schiefele, 1998), the potential benefits of motivation for school reform have been largely ignored (Anderman, 1997). The issue of students’ interests may also be viewed in the context of the “pupil’s voice in education” movement. Involving students in decisions about their life in school is viewed as a useful and pragmatic practice, as well as an important moral and educational principle (Davie & Galloway, 1996). However, until recently, the pupil’s voice was marginalized or neglected by educational researchers. The student was regarded as an object of study but not as someone who could make an informed judgment on what should be taught in school science courses (Jenkins & Nelson, 2005). This is not only true for formal K-12 science education. Too often television science programs reflect a lack of interest in the audience and its needs. “What questions would most people really like to have answered about science?” asks LaFollette (1992), adding that “We know little about which facts the audience is interested in.” Jenkins (1999) examined the implications of “citizen science,” i.e., science which relates in reflexive ways to the concerns, interests and activities of citizens as they go about their everyday lives, for the form and content of school science education. He suggested constructing science curricula that enable young people to engage in science-related issues that are likely to be of interest and concern to them (Jenkins, 1999). This idea has also been present in the recommendations of several organizations, including the National Research Council (1996) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993), which proposed that science curricula provide a common basis of knowledge while addressing the particular needs and interests of students. Therefore, the ability to identify students’ interests in science plays an important role in improving existing curricula to meet their needs. Compared to other science subjects, biology enjoys the most popularity among students (Qualter, 1993; Dawson, 2000; Osborne & Collins, 2000; Baram-Tsabari & Yarden, 2005; Murray & Reiss, 2005; Baram-Tsabari et al., 2006) and adults (Falchetti et al., 2003), especially among females. According to results from the ROSE project in Denmark (Busch, 2005) and England (Jenkins & Nelson, 2005), girls are most interested in biological topics regarding health, mind and well-being. Results from the ROSE project in Finland indicated that boys are more interested than girls in basic processes in biology (such as ecology and cell biology), whilst girls find human biology and health education more interesting than boys (Uitto et al., 2005). Interest in biology is not a constant trait–it changes with age. Stawinski (1984) found that among 13–to 16-year-old students, human biology becomes important while interest in plants and animals decreases. Older pupils’ interest in human biology is well-attested to by a number of studies, including one conducted in England (Osborne & Collins, 2000), and another in Israel (Tamir & Gardner, 1989).