An analysis of the physics achievement of non-science majors in the three colleges in Quezon Province in relation to some variables

• Main Author: Alivia, Lucrecia Mendoza
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1984
• Subjects: Physics > Achievements Students; Physics > Study and teaching; Physics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1170
• Institution: De La Salle University

The purpose of this study was to analyze the physics achivement of non-science majors in relation to some selected variables. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1. Are there significant differences in the physics achievement of non-science majors with regards to the following variables: sex, age, attitude towards physics, educational attainment of parents, and economic status of the family? 2. Are there significant relationships between physics achievement of non-science majors and each of the following factors: sex, age, attitude towards physics, educational attainment of parents, economic status of the family, grade point average in college mathematics and grade point average in college physics? The study involved 200 non-science majors from the Luzonian University Foundation (LUF), the Quezon National Agricultural School (QNAS) and the Southern Luzon Polytechnic College (SLPC). The scores in the physics achievement test for non-science majors copyrighted by the Philippine Science and Mathematics Council were used as measures of the physics achievement of the samples. The t-test and the analysis of variance were used to find out the significant difference in the physics achivement of non-science majors. The point biserial correlation coefficient, the multiserial correlation coefficient and the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient were used to find out the relationship of physics achievement with some selected variables. The .05 level of significance was used in this study. Findings: The results of the study showed that there were no significant differences in the physics achievement of non-science majors with different sexes and with different family economic status. However, there were significant differences in the physics achievement of students with different ages, attitudes towards physics, educational attainment of parents and grade-point averages in college mathematics and in college physics. The factors which were found to have significant relationship with physics achievement of non-science majors are age, attitude towards physics, educational attainment of parents, grade-point average in college mathematics and grade-point average in college physics. The factors which were found to have no significant relationship are sex and family economic status. Recommendations: 1. Survey on the factors influencing the students' interest in physics. 2. Explore the possibility of revising the sequencing of subjects for non-science majors so that physics could be offered in later years. 3. Conduct a study on the variables which can be used as predictors of physics achievement. 4. Find out what teaching strategies would motivate the students in order to develop their positive attitude towards physics.