A Systematic Review on Age 11-16 Ethnic Minority Students’ Attitudes Toward Science and Aspirations for Science Careers

Abstract

Ethnic minority students have long been underrepresented in the field of science due to social, cultural and economic factors. Understanding how their attitudes toward science and aspirations for science careers formed and developed during secondary educational level is critical to support them live their full potential for science. Numerous studies have been conduced on this topic, however a systematic examination of these studies is lacking. This research is a systematic literature review that aims to select and investigate empirical studies in the ERIC database in the timeframe from 2005 to 2017 to understand age 11-16 ethnic minority students’ attitudes toward science and their aspiration for science careers. A total of 10 literature with empirical studies were identified after screening the literature with specific criteria. The factors that influence ethnic minority students’ attitudes toward science and their aspiration for science careers are presented. The limitations in the previous research are discussed to provide recommendation for future research.