ERIC Number: EJ937864
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Racial and Gender Issues with Physics in the Pacific Region
Aung, Than; Singh, Awnesh; Prasad, Uma
Physics Teacher, v49 n6 p349-350 Sep 2011
This paper examines the state of physics teaching and learning in the Pacific Island nations. How have things changed in teaching physics? We believe that some of the goals and many of the challenges faced today have changed very little over the years. This paper is purely based upon the authors' experiences in teaching physics at the first-year level at the University of the South Pacific (USP). USP is a typical medium-sized teaching and research university as compared to universities internationally. In the Pacific, it is the biggest university and is effectively serving the 12 Pacific Island nations. Consequently, the findings described here should represent the overall situation for the Pacific region. Perhaps some of our results will resonate with readers in other locations as well. Worldwide, university students often find studying physics to be very challenging, and only a small fraction of them choose physics as a major for their degree or as a career. Students at USP are not an exception, and here we describe the severity of the problem.
Descriptors: Physics, Science Instruction, College Science, Gender Issues, Race, Majors (Students), Career Choice, Foreign Countries
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A