A network approach to science interest

What is it about?

Students with a genuine interest in science are generally more inclined to engage with sciences – for example, by keeping up with news about science or going to a science center. They will learn as a result of this engagement, and are more likely to take up a career related to sciences. In this paper, we introduce the science interest network model, which reveals how mutual interactions of specific behaviors, enjoyments, knowledge components, values, and motivational components such as self- efficacy, constitute the science interest construct. We compare the science interest networks of 15-year-olds from two different countries (the Netherlands and Colombia), using the data of a large-scale assessment, PISA 2015. Important structural differences exist in the science interest network across countries. We found that in the Netherlands science interest is domain-specific (e.g., interest in climate change, but not motion and forces), whereas in the Colombia science interest is more domain-general. Moreover, different indicators are central in the national science interest constructs, suggesting to focus interventions in different countries on different aspects: Enjoyment is central in science interest for adolescents in the Netherlands, whereas having opportunities for learning appears to be more central in Colombia.

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