Perceptions of the relevance of mathematics and science: An Australian study

This study examined students from schools mostly in Sydney and Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia). While the private girls' school used in this survey has had a very good record of girls staying on in physics, some of the public schools surveyed have had very low retention rates (and not only in the science and mathematics areas). This paper attempts to describe student differences in perceptions and attitudes and how these are related to gender and type of school. Additionally, students' perceived reasons for not performing well in mathematics and science were investigated.