Making Science Make Sense

Bayer Facts of Science Education Survey

Parental Behaviors Vis-à-vis Science Education and Their Sons and Daughters

• Whom or what do parents believe plays the greatest role in stimulating their sons' and daughters' interest in science? They ranked teachers first for both their sons (45 percent) and daughters (57 percent), followed by parents themselves (25 percent for both children). Film, television and books came in third (17 percent sons; nine percent daughters).
  
  *Native Americans and Hispanic Americans ranked themselves, not teachers, first for their sons (46 percent and 52 percent, respectively).
  
  
• Overall, parents report being very active when it comes to encouraging and/or helping their children learn science. There was little difference between what they reported doing with their sons and their daughters.
  
  

  Activity Done at Least Once a Week	Sons	Daughters
  Encourage them to do well in school	95%	96%
  Emphasize science is an important subject to learn	70%	63%
  Teach science informally at home	42%	42%
  Assist them with science homework/school projects	42%	39%
  Encourage them to learn science through books	41%	36%
  Encourage them to learn science hands-on	37%	31%

  
  
  *Under-represented minorities report similar encouragement with some specific differences. Fewer Native American parents (45 percent) report encouraging their daughters at least once a week that science is an important subject for them to learn. Fewer Hispanic parents (23 percent) report assisting their daughters at least once a week with homework. For encouragement to learn science on their own through books or other materials, they report the following:
  
  

  Encourage Them To Learn Science Through Books At Least Once A Week	Sons	Daughters
  African-American Parents	74%	65%
  Native American Parents	32%	47%
  Hispanic Parents	54%	22%

  
  
  
• When asked if they had given their sons and daughters a science-related gift in the past year, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the overall respondents say they had given such a gift to their sons, while a little less than half (47 percent) say they had done so for their daughters.
  
  *African-American, Native American and Hispanic parents report higher levels of science gift-giving to their daughters (64 percent, 62 percent and 54 percent respectively). Hispanic parents report the highest level of gift giving to their sons (79 percent) and Native American parents the lowest level (51 percent).

Unless otherwise indicated, these findings refer to the national sample of 1,000 parents. In general, the responses of the under-represented minority parents were similar. Notable differences are indicated in italics where applicable.


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