ESO students were asked to rate what they thought of science in terms of progress, danger, usefulness, or boredom.

The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, together with the Complutense University of Madrid and the Camilo José Cela University, carried out a study on the perspective of students of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) in twelve autonomous communities on science in Spain and the results showed that, after the pandemic, students believe that science in Spain is in a precarious condition. 

It was determined that the students who had been infected by Covid-19 were the ones who gave a lower score to science in terms of progress or usefulness, compared to the other students who were not infected. Likewise, those who were infected said that science is boring. 

The score

In general terms, when asked to rate Spanish science in comparison with the rest of European countries and the world, the score they gave Spanish science was very low, with 4.6 in comparison with Europe and 4.1 with the rest of the world. 

In conjunction with the above, during the confinement, students of these ages stopped visiting museums, art exhibits, zoos, among others. Instead, they became more interested in other activities such as video games, and even students who did not play video games before the pandemic are now doing so. 

Likewise, the use of social networks increased, even during working hours, increasing by almost 15% from Monday to Thursday, 11% on Fridays, and 7.3% on Saturdays and Sundays. 

With the above, it is evident that ESO students consider Spanish science to be limited and in deplorable situations. This situation can be understood in two ways: optimistic and pessimistic. The optimistic view is based on the fact that students become aware of the deficiencies and shortcomings of science, which can act as a motivation to join scientific careers. However, the pessimistic view holds that students have lost interest in science and, therefore, will avoid studying science careers in the future, considering it as a career with little potential for the future. 

However, science is a fundamental pillar in society, it generates new knowledge, improves education, increases the quality of life, and it is worrying that the new generations do not consider it useful. 

To learn more about the education sector, the International Iberoamerican University offers a Master in Education with a Specialty in the Organization and Management of Education Centers. 

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Source: ESO students dismiss science in the wake of the pandemic