Formation of Children’s Interests in Physical Versus Life Sciences: Significance of Parent, Gender and Ethnicity Influences

Women and Hispanic people in the United States (U.S.) are underrepresented in many physical science and engineering fields, despite higher representation in life science fields. This study examines how science topic (physical vs. life science) influences the role that parents play in the development of their elementary school-age (fourth grade) children’s science-related interests, attitudes, and problem-solving strategies, including differences related to parent and child ethnicity (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) and gender. The participants were 153 girls and boys in fourth grade and their parents in the Phoenix metropolitan area of the United States. Each parent–child dyad’s behaviors as they completed hands-on physical science and life science activities together were examined. Parents and children were more talkative during physical science activities than during life science activities (for parents M = 13.70, SD = 54.99, p = 0.004, and for children M = 20.88, SD = 34.93, p < 0.001), where M = the difference between the number of utterances during physical versus life science problems. In addition, parents provided more explanations/answers, asked more questions to prompt their children, and asked more questions about their child’s understanding during physical science activities as compared to life science activities. Regarding problem-solving strategies, the dyads used their existing knowledge/experience more during physical science activities, whereas they used assumptions more during life science activities. Interactions that occurred between topic and ethnicity or gender, and implications for representation of women and Hispanic students in physical versus life science majors in later years, are also presented.