Markus Sebastian Feser

The present study explored the role of first-year physics students’ sense of belonging to physics and how it relates to their learning progression in higher education-level physics. Conducted at Paderborn University, this study examined how students’ sense of belonging to physics influences their academic outcomes in an introductory experimental physics course. Additionally, we investigated how physics students’ engagement in the Physiktreff—a holistic support program for first-year physics students to help them cope with academic and social challenges during their studies—impacts the development of their sense of belonging to physics over time. Our findings indicated that students with a stronger sense of belonging to physics performed better academically. Moreover, students who actively participated in the support program experienced a positive shift in their sense of belonging to physics. However, our findings also revealed that physics students with a higher initial sense of belonging to physics tended to experience a decline in their sense of belonging to physics during their first semester. These results underscore the importance of fostering a sense of belonging to physics within higher education, particularly during the introductory phase of students’ studies.

A primary duty for physics teachers is to provide students with opportunities to engage in subject-specific learning processes. Such processes are always accompanied by students’ (mis)conceptions. Consequently, diagnosing students’ conceptions is a daily, essential, and challenging task for physics teachers. Prospective physics teachers should, therefore, receive appropriate preparation regarding this task during their university-based teacher education. To meet this requirement, we developed a course for Austrian pre-service physics teachers that incorporates the usage of video vignettes and micro-teaching sessions as learning arrangements to enhance participants’ diagnostic skills. Within the present study, we followed a single case study design to explore if and to which extent the self-confidence in diagnosing students’ conceptions of pre-service physics teachers who participated in this course changed over time. Our data analysis revealed mixed findings, as our participants showed increases, decreases, and U-shaped change-patterns regarding their self-confidence in diagnosing students’ conceptions. These findings indicate that participating in our developed course may have highly diverging effects on different pre-service physics teachers.

The present study investigates on an exploratory level the extent to which the sense of belonging that university physics students experienced in their physics classes in secondary school impacts their intention to drop out or alter their course of study in higher education. Analysing data collected between April and June 2022 among first-year physics students at 20 German universities (N = 263), we find a significant and negative effect on the part of participants’ (remembered) sense of belonging in school physics classes on their intention to drop out or change their studies. Parallel mediation analysis further reveals that this effect is fully mediated by students’ current sense of belonging to physics and their university. Notably, the indirect effect via participants’ current sense of belonging to physics is approximately four times as high as the indirect effect via university belonging. These results emphasise the importance of social embeddedness in early physics experiences on students’ academic development in higher education. Limitations of these results as well as implications regarding a potential improvement of persistence and satisfaction within physics-related higher-education programs are outlined at the end of this paper.

As digital technology becomes increasingly available in education, educational researchers around the globe increasingly have to confront how it may affect school students’ academic success. The use and potential benefits of AI-based chatbots such as ChatGPT within high school (STEM) education is a novel area of educational research with a broad variety of research gaps. To the best of my knowledge, this is especially true when it comes to parents’ views in this regard. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that delving into an in-depth inquiry of parents’ attitudes, perspectives, and concerns about the use of such chatbots in educational settings would substantially contribute to bridging some crucial voids in our understanding of the overall impact of these digital technologies on high school (STEM) education and thus may be a particularly promising area for future research.

Aside from the results of some rather holistic opinion polls, hardly any research has assessed parents’ views on the use of AI-based chatbots in high school education, especially when it comes to STEM education. Therefore, the aim of the present editorial is to provide some initial insights into parents’ views on the use of AI-based chatbots, such as ChatGPT, in high school (STEM) education and to offer some suggestions for forthcoming research.

The viscous behavior of fluids can be observed in numerous everyday situations. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that people, since they are usually not specialists in fluids’ flow behavior, possess naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids. These conceptions more or less deviate from corresponding scientific explanations. Qualitative studies with preschool children and secondary school students from Germany have already identified various naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids (e.g. that the density or stickiness of a substance explains its viscous behavior). Within the present study, we explore the question of whether similar naïve conceptions can also be found among adults around the globe. To this end, based on previous research, an online questionnaire was developed to survey adults worldwide regarding their naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids. The survey was conducted anonymously, online, and voluntarily in spring 2023; participants were recruited via SurveySwap. A total of 406 adults from all regions of the world (primarily Europe and North America) participated in the survey. In this paper, we report and discuss the main findings of this online survey.

Previous studies on the challenges teachers face when teaching science in German, as well as their corresponding coping strategies, feature a significant blind spot because—to our knowledge—they have only been conducted in regions, where German is the majority language. To address this blind spot, the present case study explores the perspectives of a science teacher on the role of German as language of instruction in a context in which German is a minority language. To this end, we conducted a narrative interview with a science teacher at a German-speaking school in Namibia and analyzed it qualitative-reconstructively. Our data analysis revealed that two meta-themes, which we labeled “teaching while navigating a monolingual norm” and “teaching while handling shortages,” pattern the key challenges and coping strategies of our interviewed teacher when she is teaching science in German language. The implications of this finding are outlined at the end of this paper.

The viscous behavior of fluids can be observed in numerous everyday situations. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that people, since they are usually not specialists in fluids' flow behavior, possess naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids. These conceptions more or less deviate from corresponding scientific explanations. Qualitative studies with preschool children and secondary school students from Germany have already identified various naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids (e.g., that the density or stickiness of a substance explains its viscous behavior). Within the present study, we explore the question of whether similar naïve conceptions can also be found among adults around the globe. To this end, based on previous research, an online questionnaire was developed to survey adults worldwide regarding their naïve conceptions about the viscous behavior of fluids. The survey was conducted anonymously, online, and voluntarily in spring 2023; participants were recruited via SurveySwap. A total of 406 adults from all regions of the world (primarily Europe and North America) participated in the survey. In this paper, we report and discuss the main findings of this online survey.

Within the present study, we investigated first-year physics students’ senses of belonging to physics and to their university given different backgrounds and prerequisites. Moreover, we explored whether, and to what extent, these two senses of belonging relate to characteristics that curtail students’ academic success and impact the dropout rate from physics programs. For this purpose, we conducted a voluntary, anonymous online survey at 20 universities in Germany. A total of 238 first-year physics students participated. The results of the present study not only align with those of previous research (e.g., the correlative results) but also extend the current state of research (e.g., the revealed intergroup differences) and provide starting points for future research. Conclusions are drawn from these results at the end of the paper.

In German primary schools, natural sciences and social studies are learned and taught in an integrative manner within a subject called Sachunterricht. To teach Sachunterricht in a high-quality manner, it is reasonable to assume that primary school teachers themselves require—among other things, such as knowledge about pedagogy, teaching Sachunterricht, and the various content areas of Sachunterricht—a distinct interest, academic self-concept, and sense of belonging regarding natural and social sciences. Furthermore, they should possess a solid interdisciplinary competence that enables them to teach natural and social sciences in an integrative way. In the present study, we conducted a longitudinal survey of pre-service primary school teachers from a German university over a period of 2 years to investigate the changes in their (self-evaluated) interdisciplinary competence; the changes in their interest, academic self-concept, and sense of belonging regarding natural and social sciences; and the correlations between these constructs. Our data analysis revealed a decrease over time in participants’ sense of belonging to natural and social sciences, as well as their (self-evaluated) interdisciplinary competence, while their academic self-concept in natural and social sciences remained stable. Participants’ interest in social sciences decreased, while their interest in natural sciences increased. Moreover, we found varying degrees of correlation between these constructs. In summary, the results of the present study provide important insights into the professional development of pre-service primary school teachers within university-based teacher education for teaching natural and social sciences in primary school. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail at the end of this paper.