There are far fewer high school students enrolled in physics than in chemistry or biology courses within the province of Alberta (Alberta Education, 2007). Students are also completing the highest level math course in larger numbers than those taking physics. It appears that a fear of physics exists within students in our province; this fear seems to be related to a level of difficulty the students associate with physics. Many students either opt to not take physics or enter the course with the expectation of failure. In this study I explored the impact of physics’ reputation upon a group of students who chose not to take physics. In addition, I attempted to determine whether the perception of the difficulty of high school physics is accurate. This was done by investigating the perceptions of several students who took physics. I surveyed students from one high school in a small urban school district using group interviews. The students were in grades 10 to 12 and divided into groups of Science 10, Physics 20 and Physics 30 students. The students were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of what perceptions they have about physics and why they may have them, hoping to identify factors that affect their academic decision to take or not take physics classes. For the students interviewed, I found that the biggest influence on their decisions to take or not take physics was related to their future aspirations. The students were also heavily influenced by their perceptions of physics. The students who took physics claimed that physics was not as difficult as they had believed it to be and they reported that it was interesting, enjoyable and relevant. Those students who had chosen to not take physics perceived it would be difficult, irrelevant and boring. Therefore, a major difference of perception exists between the students who took physics and those that did not. / viii, 221 leaves ; 29 cm

The results of national examination in matric and universities showed that African students were performing very poorly in their studies and examinations in science and in physics in particular. The objective in this study was to investigate some of the difficulties both African teachers and students, that meant African learners, had in understanding physics, specifically mechanics. The study consisted of investigation of two themes, namely, conceptual and language difficulties. Conceptual Difficulties were investigated by means of three questionnaire tasks. Task One investigated learners' understanding of the concepts of force, energy, power, momentum, speed and other related mechanics concepts in the context of boulders rolling down and up a mountain slope. Task Two investigated subjects' understanding of the force on a ball that was thrown up by the hand, went up to the highest position, and then turned and fell freely back to the ground. Task Three investigated learners' understanding of the positions where speeds, velocities, accelerations and forces were equal on a ball as it was going up and on its way down. The Pilot group, among whom the wide pilot work of this study was done through some haphazard questionnaire, consisted of pre-service and in-service teachers selected from the North East Free State Highlands which was regarded as an appropriate location with a number of institutions with the necessary research subjects, ,since it was neither much urban nor much rural. Intensive study and analysis was done on this pilot work and it led to some real research study to be conducted within a more "focussed" group, namely, the Student group. This Student group which consisted of the first year physics students on the Pietermaritzburg Campus of the University of Natal, was selected for purposes of comparison. Two kinds of Reference groups were devised: for the Conceptual Difficulties investigation the Reference group consisted of physics lecturers and professors from several universities. Their unanimous responses together were regarded as a memorandum through which to correct the responses of the study subjects. For the Language Difficulties investigation the Reference group consisted of African physicists from several universities. There was no unanimous consensus on their mechanics concepts translations into their vernaculars. Analysis of written results and interviews showed that African students experienced Conceptual Difficulties in mechanics. The Conceptual Difficulties were similar to those conducted in many other countries around the world by physics education researchers. The Language Difficulties were of two types. Firstly, a translation from a single mother tongue term into multiple English (the language of instruction) terms revealed a lack of clear concepts differentiation among the subjects. Secondly, there was no consensus, even amongst African physicists, as to which vernacular terms and English terms correspond. In addition, the interaction of the use of African vernaculars with an alternative conceptualisation seemed to have resulted to many of the research subjects believing in a quantity that is intrinsic to a person or object. This quantity had attributes of several different mechanics quantities, such as force, momentum, energy and power. Two tasks were used in the second theme where Language Difficulties were investigated. Translations of conceptual terms that were supplied in Task One and Task Three of the first theme were given and examined. The phenomenon of reverse translation from mother tongue to English was identified as a source of Language Difficulties due to the availability of limited words for these conceptual terms in the vernaculars spoken in South Africa. However, the effect language on the subjects' understanding of mechanics was not simply the result of the lack of vocabulary, the study also showed that the research subjects conceptualised physics concepts differently from physicists, this was revealed by analysing their use of both English and their vernaculars. The results of the investigations were then discussed and compared with those obtained by other research workers in similar studies around the world. Some approaches in teaching physics to African students in an endeavour to alleviate these unearthed difficulties were proposed and recommended in the conclusion. It was further encouraged that more investigations would show to appropriately and successfully instruct the African learners the physics concepts, since some institutions lately managed to produce African physicists and physics professors. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This study examined the performance of the first cohort of learners writing Physical Science in the National Senior Certificate examinations. The critical question that the researcher addressed was: How can the results produced in Physical Science in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the 2008 NSC examination be used to give an understanding of the academic performance of learners? Using the mixed method approach, two data cohorts, namely the results produced by learners in Physical Science and the interview data, were subjected to analysis through the lens of phenomenology and semiotics. Findings of the study reveal that the education system still carries with it the inequalities of the past, with quality Physical Science to a few learners who were fortunate enough to attend privileged schools, identified by their high quintile ranking (5), in the predominately urban areas. The results of learners in poor, predominately rural schools, ranked quintile 1 and quintile 2, reveal that the “cycle of mediocrity” (Khan, 1995, p.128) still prevails. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This creative project is a teacher's manual to accompany the student materials previously developed for "Physics for Freshmen: A Laboratory Survey of Some Major Topics in Physics." The manual is divided into four sections for each of the 62 laboratory investigations. The teaser is intended to arouse interest in the principle to be studied. The equipment list is to aid the teacher in the preparation of materials. The introduction includes directions for preparation of materials, notes for introducing subject matter to the students, and directions and/or references for the operation of the equipment. The conclusion is basically notes to use in leading the students' discussion following their experimental work.The manual is intended for an experienced physics teacher or for someone trained in the field with a great deal of personal reference study.

Current research on cognitive learning is applied to the designing of several experiments for use in high school physical science and physics classes. The goal of the project was to use simple inexpensive materials to construct experiments and demonstrations that illustrate physics concepts and can easily be modeled using simple mathematics.Saline solutions are used to show simple examples of refraction and effects of a solution of varying density. The refractive index of two liquids is measured. The continuous refraction of a stratified fluid is demonstrated. Fluid flow is investigated. This leads to a simple experiment that leads to an easy way to measure the acceleration of gravity.The goal was met with several simple experiments using inexpensive materials, modeling techniques, and simple mathematics derivations were designed and tested. Data from the experiments gives results that are very close to the accepted values. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

This study investigated the attitudes of grade 11 female students towards the study of Physical Science in Mafikeng. Attitudinal measures, such as levels of student's interest and the perceived utility of science, were examined. The subjects of the study included grade 11 female students from selected high schools in the Mafikeng District. A total of 300 female students participated in the study. A survey method was used in this study. A questionnaire was administered to examine the perceptions and attitudes of female students towards the study of Physical Science. A three-point positive/neutral/negative scale was utilized in sections B. C. and Din order to encourage students to make an attitude choice. The research findings showed that the attitudes of grade 11 female students in the selected high schools were affected by parents, teachers, peers, classroom environment, personal perceptions and aspirations. / M. Ed. (Science Education) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / This study aims to narrate the lived experiences of Grade 12 Physical Sciences learners. According to UMALUSI reports on National Senior Certificate (NSC) of 2011 and 2013, there seems to be a steady decrease in the number of learners writing Physical Sciences from 2008 to 2013. One of the aims of this study is to investigate why there is a steady decline in the number of learners choosing the subject and what their classroom experiences are. A related aim is to describe how these learners’ perceptions of their Physical Sciences educators affect their mental experiences in the subject. The study used phenomenology both as a research methodology as well as the underpinning theoretical framework. Twelve Grade 12 learners from 3 different schools in the Metro North Education District in Cape Town were chosen to participate in this research. The data were collected using two rounds of in-depth semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and explicated using Giorgi’s phenomenological method. The findings show that although Physical Sciences educators are trying to support their learners, they are failing to meet the expectations of the learners. These findings provide new insights into understanding the world of the learner better and that the recommendations could have transformative implications for curriculum planners, curriculum advisors and pedagogical strategies in how the subject is presented to learners.

The problem of this study is twofold. The first is to discover in what ways are physics teachers and counselors in large Texas public secondary schools encouraging students to take physics, and second, what are their perceptions of reasons for student avoidance of physics. The population consisted of physics teachers and counselors in large (1,310 minimum enrollment) high and low percentage physics enrollment schools. Percentage enrollment in physics is defined as the number of students enrolled in physics compared to total twelfth grade enrollment. Thirty high (above 8.9) and thirty low (below 8.0) percentage enrollment schools comprise the sample population. Data were collected using separate questionnaires that related to (a) school, (b) physics teacher, and (c) counselor variables that could affect physics enrollments. The questionnaires addressed to perceptions of both physics teachers and counselors covered (a) the exchange of physics course information between students, teachers, and counselors, (b) the method of exchange of physics course information, and (c) the extent to which the physics program is sold to the student body. Also elicited were eleven responses from both physics teachers and counselors that pertain to perceived reasons for student avoidance of physics courses. A statistical analysis was made between physics teachers and counselors perceptions pairing high and low percentage enrollment groups by chi square analysis of each item of the questionnaire, using a .05 level for significance.

M.Ed. / The grade 12 Physical Sciences students of 2008 were the first group of South African students to write a National Senior Certificate (NSC) on the new outcomes-based education (OBE) curriculum – the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). Society scrutinised the performance of students in this high stake examination. The outcome was disappointing: 71,3% of the students achieved a mark of less than 40%, and 45% of the group achieved a mark of less than 30%. Concern amongst the educational community, specifically the Department of Education (DOE), initiated a request for research into the possible causes of the poor performance by students in this examination. There are many factors that affect the performance of students, including the misconceptions held by students regarding subject content. This study aims to contribute knowledge about the common misconceptions held by science students regarding Physics. It also investigates the performance of students in explanation-type questions and what explanation-types reveal about student misconceptions. The research design for this study is a content analysis which was carried out qualitatively in two phases. In the primary phase, a sample of student examination scripts was analysed. During the secondary phase, interviews were conducted with grade 12 Physical Sciences students and teachers from one school. The findings of this study are that the following misconceptions are commonly held by students: • Heavier objects exert more force on lighter objects during a collision; • Total external resistance decreases when an external resistor, connected in parallel, is removed; • Energy is lost in certain situations; • A split-ring is found in an AC generator; • The voltage increases when appliances are added to a multi-plug.

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