School effects and subject choice: The uptake of scientific subjects in Ireland

Emer Smyth, Carmel Hannan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Studies of subject take-up within secondary education have tended to focus on student characteristics and have rarely attempted to take account of the broad variety of ways, formal and informal, in which schools can constrain or facilitate particular subject choices. In contrast, this article explores both the school and student factors shaping the take-up of Biology, Physics, and Chemistry at upper secondary level. The analyses draw on detailed information on almost 4,000 students in 100 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Schools are found to differ in the proportion of students taking science subjects, even controlling for the profile of students. School structures at both lower and upper secondary levels are found to play a role in shaping the choices made by students regarding science.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303-327
Number of pages25
JournalSchool Effectiveness and School Improvement
Volume17
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sep 2006
Externally publishedYes

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