GENDER, PERCEPTION OF LEARNING PHYSICS AND PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERSITY PHYSICS: A CASE STUDY FROM CHINA

Abstract

In this study, the researcher has developed and validated an instrument focus on perception of learning physics, which builds on Maryland Physics Expectations survey (MPEX). It was administered to first-year university students in a Chinese university during the autumn semester of 2011. It was found that female students preferred physics learning by relating and by analysis, which were positively correlated to better performance in physics. Male students preferred physics learning by rote which was negatively correlated to performance in university physics. So physics learning perception differences based on the gender also exist in China. At the same time, no significant gender difference found on the performance in university physics. The results were similar to the studies in the Western countries and have pedagogical implications for instructors of university physics and potentially for other science courses. Key words: gender, perception of learning, physics education, science education.