Young People's Views On Science

Boys and girls are equally interested in a job related to science, according to new research from MORI carried out for Professor Helen Haste, the Author of "Science in my Future", the Report of her analysis of the findings of the survey, Professor Haste is Director of Research, Nestle Social Research Programme. Her study shows a third of boys and girls (35% and 32%) would be interested in a career in science.

The most striking finding is that girls who are enthusiastic about a career related to science are also the most critical of it. They are most concerned about ethical issues and are most sceptical of claims that science can solve human problems like poverty and unhappiness.

These girls are also less interested in science fiction (49% of boys compared with 27% of girls). Boys who would like a career in science, in contrast, more closely fit the popular image of science. They are keen on space and technology, believe that science can be applied widely to human problems and are less concerned by ethical issues.

The study shows that overall, young people are quite positive about the benefits of science and technology, but they are concerned about animal welfare, and how science can be applied to ordinary human concerns.

Over one half of young people (53%) trust scientists to make responsible judgements about the dangers of their work, but only a third (34%) trust government to make necessary laws to control any dangerous developments in science. The majority would like more money spent on finding a cure for AIDS (80%), and making environmentally-friendly products (66%). They are less enthusiastic about spending more money on space exploration (36%) and developing robots (22%).

Other findings:

• Seven out of 10 (69%) agree that 'Science and technology are making our lives healthier, easier and more comfortable'.
• Around four out of 10 would like to see more money spent on genetic research for improved food production (43%), on research for national defence (41%) and on finding out what makes people aggressive (39%).
• 48% of boys, but only 24% of girls, would like more money spent on space exploration, and about the same proportion (46% and 27% respectively) would like to see money spent on trying to find life on other planets.
• Six out of 10 (66% of girls, 51% of boys) agree that 'Experimenting on animals is always morally wrong'.

Technical details

A sample of 1,058 young people aged 11-21 were interviewed between 22 April and 21 May 2004. 600 pupils completed a paper based self completion questionnaire across 25 schools/colleges. 159 university students and 299 of those aged 16-21 no longer in full time education completed an online self completion questionnaire. Data were weighted to the known population of this audience. The questionnaire was versioned with 704 young people answering the section on Science.

Topline Results

• A sample of 1,058 children and young adults aged between 11 and 21 were interviewed across England, Scotland and Wales
• All questionnaires were completed between 22 April and 21 May 2004.
• 600 interviews were conducted with school and college pupils (aged 11-18), 159 with university students (up to the age of 21), and 299 with those no longer in full time education (16-21 years).
• Interviews among school and college pupils were conducted in 25 schools, on paper during self completion sessions.
• Interviews with university students and others not studying were conducted via an on-line self completion questionnaire.
• The questionnaire was versioned due its length with each respondent answering two out of three sections and all demographics.
• A total of 704 respondents answered the questions on science being reported on in this document.
• All figures are expressed in percentage terms unless otherwise stated.
• Number may not always add up to 100% due to computer rounding or multiple answers, or a number of not stated answers.
• An asterisk (*) denotes a figure less than 0.5% but greater than zero.

The World Around Us

This section asks about your views on the world around us.

Q1 In which, if any, of the following groups of subject areas is your: a) Preferred subject? b) Second preferred subject? Base: 704

	a) Preferred	b) Second preferred
	%	%
Sciences (e.g. physics, maths, computer science, biology, chemistry, environmental science)	20	22
Arts & humanities (e.g. languages, English)	14	21
Social sciences (e.g. sociology, economics, psychology, history, geography, communications, media)	15	20
Art, design, music and drama	30	17
Sport	26	15
Technology, Craft and Design and Technology	18	19
Other subject	4	2
None of these	2	3
Don't know	3	3
Not stated	3	7

Q2 Which, if any, of the following best describes what you like about your preferred subject -- that is the subject you outlined at Q1? Base: 704

	%
I find it easy	42
I get to use my brain	34
I get to think logically	28
I get to use my body / do something physical	32
It is something I am interested in	73
It is something I know a lot about	43
I get the chance to use my imagination	36
I feel it's relevant to my life now	27
I feel it's relevant to my life in the future	35
I like the teacher	20
It's a way to explore the word around me	15
It deals with relationships between people	12
I like my class mates	29
None of these	1
Don't know	6

Q3 For EACH pair of statements below please indicate the extent to which you agree with the statement on the right hand side or the statement on the left hand side by ticking the box in the most appropriate position.

Ticking a box closer to the left hand side means you are more likely to agree with the statement on the left hand side and ticking a box closer to the right hand side means you are more likely to agree with the statement on the right hand side. Base: 704

	%	%	%	%	%
I like natural history and wildlife programmes on television	18	17	22	18	21	I am bored by natural history and wildlife programmes on television
I like learning about new developments in technology	22	28	28	10	18	I am not interested in learning about new developments in technology
I would not be interested in a job related to science	24	19	21	17	16	I would be interested in a job related to science
I find programmes about medicine and biology interesting	13	16	23	20	24	I am bored by programmes about medicine and biology
I think I know pretty well all I will ever need to know about the areas of science that will affect me personally	7	9	34	27	19	I would like to understand a lot more about those areas of science that will affect me personally
A scientific way of thinking can be applied effectively to most problems in life	11	24	41	11	9	Scientific ways of thinking only apply to a very narrow range of human problems
I am bored by space programmes on television	27	14	22	18	15	I enjoy space programmes on television
I like science fiction	18	20	24	14	20	I avoid science fiction
I expect to use computers in my career	41	21	21	6	7	I would hope to avoid using computers in my career
I learn more about how to deal with life's problems from reading fiction or watching films and drama programmes	12	21	35	16	12	I learn more about how to deal with life's problems by looking for logical explanations
I like problems where there is a clear right or wrong answer	23	18	29	12	13	I like problems where there are several possible answers

Q4 For the next three questions, I would like you to think about three different scholars / researchers:

Firstly for Dr A who undertakes research into the origins of the universe

Thinking about Dr A/B/C, please tell me whether you think this person is very likely, somewhat likely or not likely to be each of the following: Base: 704

Dr A ...	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Not likely	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Is very intelligent	58	31	2	7
Does not believe in God	14	35	21	26
Has little social life	14	42	21	19
Uses words no-one understands	31	42	21	19
Will work for years without being certain of success	27	36	19	15
Has an interesting job	34	40	13	11
Leads an exciting life	13	34	34	15
Likes challenges and risks	28	35	20	15
Seeks personal fame	12	33	34	18
Is female	7	25	26	38
Seeks wealth	14	33	28	21
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings	19	34	16	27

Secondly for Dr B who undertakes research looking for a cure for AIDS or cancer

Dr B ...	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Not likely	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Is very intelligent	66	24	1	6
Does not believe in God	9	29	26	34
Has little social life	12	35	29	21
Uses words no-one understands	18	39	26	14
Will work for years without being certain of success	35	36	15	11
Has an interesting job	37	41	9	10
Leads an exciting life	16	41	20	20
Likes challenges and risks	35	34	12	15
Seeks personal fame	15	29	32	20
Is female	15	35	11	36
Seeks wealth	13	28	32	24
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings	15	22	32	28

And thirdly for Dr C who writes books about famous artists

Dr C...	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Not likely	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%
Is very intelligent	26	48	13	11
Does not believe in God	7	29	20	42
Has little social life	17	26	36	18
Uses words no-one understands	13	24	46	14
Will work for years without being certain of success	14	33	34	16
Has an interesting job	24	38	24	11
Leads an exciting life	20	38	23	17
Likes challenges and risks	15	30	34	18
Seeks personal fame	37	34	10	16
Is female	12	33	14	38
Seeks wealth	36	31	11	18
Is more interested in thoughts than in feelings	18	28	21	29

Q5 To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the statements below? Base: 704

	Agree strongly	Agree slightly	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree slightly	Disagree strongly	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Science and technology are making our lives healthier, easier and more comfortable	32	37	17	5	1	5
I trust the government to make any necessary laws to control any dangerous developments in science	8	25	23	18	15	7
Science should be concerned with understanding the natural world, not trying to change it	23	33	26	7	2	6
I trust scientists to make responsible judgements about the dangers of their work	18	35	22	10	4	7
No matter how many new products and inventions appear, most people's lives remain the same	11	31	21	19	8	6
Scientific advances are going too far and too fast to be controlled	9	26	26	20	8	8
Computers will soon be essential in the everyday lives of ordinary people	46	28	13	3	2	6
I believe that natural remedies are best for treating most illnesses	15	19	32	15	6	10
I spend a lot of time thinking about animal welfare	8	14	31	19	18	7
I spend a lot of time thinking about the environment	7	19	29	21	15	6
People like me and my family have little chance to influence the government	28	24	24	7	6	8
When people think they have foretold the future it is just coincidence	16	24	30	10	5	12
Experimenting on animals is always morally wrong	38	21	17	11	7	4
In order to think logically we have to understand science	11	29	32	12	5	6
Science cannot solve the basic human problems like poverty and unhappiness	28	24	23	11	4	8
The likely effects of global warming have been exaggerated	8	20	27	18	10	13
I am interested in doing something about problems in the community	13	23	33	12	7	8
I feel that people like me can make our voices heard if we go about it the right way	19	28	22	11	7	9
Scientists should take stories of alien abduction seriously	9	16	30	15	18	10
I always make sure that I buy cruelty-free products	11	19	29	16	11	10
The media has exaggerated the dangers of GM foods	11	20	34	9	6	17
Science is largely irrelevant to my daily life	6	15	31	22	13	10
I have tried to influence the way things are done at my school or college	10	18	32	14	12	10

Q6 Do you think that more money, less money or about the same amount of money should be spent on each of the following? Base: 704

	Much more money spending	Some more money spending	The same amount of money spending	Somewhat less money spending	Much less money spending	No opinion / Don't know
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Nuclear power	9	16	34	16	8	14
Finding a cure for AIDS	52	27	8	2	1	6
Developing robots	9	13	27	19	19	9
Space exploration	17	19	27	17	10	7
Genetic research for improving food production	16	27	31	8	6	8
Making environmentally-friendly products	30	36	19	3	1	7
Finding out what makes people aggressive	15	24	33	11	6	7
Trying to find evidence of life on other planets	17	20	24	16	13	7
Research for national defence	18	23	30	9	5	11

Q7 And, which, if any, of the things listed below have you done in the past two to three years? Base: 704

	%
Given my time to an organisation that helps the handicapped or people in need	28
Made a speech in front of others	49
Collected money for a good cause or charity	47
Written a letter to the editor of a newspaper, magazine or television programme	17
Collected signatures for a petition	17
Been on a demonstration	13
Taken part in sponsored activities or collected money for good causes	47
None of these	15
Don't know	4
Not stated	4

Q8 Please read sections A, B, and C below and, for each section, tick the statement which is the closest to the way that you personally feel. Base: 704

		%
A	I would support scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	21
	I would not support scientific experiments on live animals even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	35
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	38
B	I would support cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	31
	I would not support cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	36
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting cloning of animals such as Dolly the sheep if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	29
C	I would support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	35
	I would not support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) even if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	23
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve new agricultural methods that would significantly benefit the environment	37

Q9 Please read sections A, B, and C below and, for each section, tick the statement which is the closest to the way that you personally feel. Base: 704

		%
A	I would support scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	17
	I would not support scientific experiments on live animals even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	49
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting scientific experiments on live animals if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	30
B	I would support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	35
	I would not support genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	23
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of plants (e.g. for food stuffs / crops) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	37
C	I would support genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	19
	I would not support genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) even if it was shown that this was necessary to obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	40
	I am unsure how I feel about supporting genetic modification of animals (e.g. in medical research) if it was shown that this was necessary to achieve obtain nutritionally improved food that tastes and costs the same as the food I eat at the moment	36

Q10 Which two or three, if any, of the following would help make a better world? Base: 704

	%
Halving the number of people living in poverty	57
Ensuring that every child in the world goes to primary school	50
Making sure that boys and girls have equal opportunities in education	49
Reducing the number of women who die in child birth	27
Improving access to safe drinking water	72
None of these	2
Don't know	4
Not stated	3