New Perspectives in Science Education

In order to ensure sustainable prosperity, developed countries require both a scientifically literate population and a workforce of professionals who are ready to engage in science and technology fields. Consequently, science education has provided an unprecedented opportunity for economic mobility. The present study examines the differences in the enrollment in advanced level secondary science courses (and physics in particular) among three groups of Israeli Jewish students. The first two groups are the second-generation children of high-skilled immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and the English-speaking countries, while the third group comprises the third generation of Israeli-born students. This study made use of the matriculation files of the Israeli Ministry of Education, which include data on all students in the Jewish sector in the public schools. The sample included 51,593 students who completed secondary school in 2013. The findings of the Israeli case study indicate that the children of immigrants from the first two groups and both genders are more likely to enroll in the secondary science studies than the third generation Israeli-born students. However, the analyses revealed that after controlling for socio-demographic variables, the enrollment advantage of English-speaking students disappeared whereas the advantage of the FSU students remained. Moreover,  FSU students from both genders were the most likely group to enroll in advanced physics courses, as compared to their peers from the English-speaking countries and the third generation Israeli-born students, who were the least likely to pursue physics studies. After controlling for the socio-economic variables, the physics enrollment advantaged of the FSU students remained. The paper discusses possible explanations for these findings from the cultural capital and safety net perspectives. This study has significant theoretical and practical implications for researchers, policy-makers and science educators, as the education of immigrant children is one of the biggest challenges faced by the Western world today.

Keywords: Science education, physics engagement, gender inequality in science education, science education and immigration;