Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Male Students’ Hesitancy to Study Biology in Ireland: Factors Effecting Intent in the Transition to Upper Secondary School

Abstract

While it is evident that Ireland has the ambition to widen access to higher education, there are challenges; especially regarding the decision-making process of socio-economically disadvantaged youth when selecting subjects for transition into higher education. This is of particular concern when there are abundant science-related courses in higher education, as well as careers, which are fundamental to the global economy, and a cohort of Ireland’s youth is disadvantaged in choosing this pathway. National statistics highlight the disproportionate participation rate across genders in upper secondary school science education. Extensive research has been invested in exploring supporting female access into male-dominated science fields (e.g., physics) but less so regarding male access into female-dominated science fields (e.g., biology) to achieve gender equity. Thus, this paper uses the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a theoretical framework to examine the possible psychosocial elements affecting the decision-making process of socio-economically disadvantaged male students attending DEIS schools in the Republic of Ireland and their intent to study biology as a subject at the upper secondary school level. Data collected from 344 secondary school-level students from 20 schools across nine Irish counties, and subsequently descriptively analysed, revealed that male students were considerably less likely than female students to choose biology at upper secondary level education. Many male students expressed anxiousness and hopelessness when evaluating the study of biology. Teachers were identified as lead influencers and self-efficacy was highlighted as a significant factor in male affinity to the subject. Finally, higher levels of female students’ intent to study biology at upper second level suggested the familial influence of parents and wider family contributes to their overall perspective on the relevance of science to their future prosperity. Considering the various factors influencing intent, the authors suggest that a targeted pedagogical intervention that includes the promotion of self-efficacy; male student mastery experiences through assessment; emphasis on scientific knowledge; and raising the awareness of the various career pathways that studying biology affords could ameliorate this trend amongst teenage males. Additionally, targeted messaging for parents and the wider family as well as continuous professional development for teachers should be integral to any work conducted in this area.

1. Introduction

1.1. Intention to Study Science at Upper Secondary Level Schooling

Understanding students’ intentions to study science at upper secondary school, at university, and to follow science careers continues as a central concern for international science education [1]. Students’ experiences and intentions reported during secondary school have been indicative of whether they subsequently enrolled in science degrees [2]. Moreover, in a comprehensive survey of US science graduates, while over half reported that their interest in science developed before or during primary/elementary school, around a third nevertheless reported that their interest developed during secondary school [3]. Determining the primary factors influencing students’ intentions or choices remains challenging. Several studies have highlighted the importance of students’ backgrounds or characteristics, such as gender [4], ethnicity [5], or the schools they attended [6], although such studies have often overlooked students’ attitudes. Further research has revealed that students’ intentions to study science are more strongly influenced by their own attitudes and beliefs, rather than by their background or gender [7]. Factors such as achievement, confidence, intrinsic interest in science, and the extrinsic utility of science (such as its relevance to specific careers or lucrative employment opportunities), as well as advice and guidance to study science, have all been found to predict students’ intention to study science [8].

1.2. Irish Context

Ireland’s endeavour is to develop “a third level sector where neither your background nor experience has a bearing on your ability to attend and flourish in higher education” [9], but significant barriers remain, especially for communities who experience nervousness due to their unfamiliarity with higher education [10,11]. The transition rate from second level to higher education for socio-economically disadvantaged students was 40% in 2018/2019 and 42% in 2019/2020, compared to 87% and 81%, respectively, for those from affluent backgrounds [12]. These non-transition rates are reflected in other European countries such as Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in rural areas where young people who exit the formal education system early often fall into the precarity a Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) status [13,14]. A target transition rate of 54% is set for the duration of the National Access Plan: A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022–2028 [9], an objective of approximately two percentage points each year. Baseline data gathered from second level students in Ireland shine a light on the challenges and opportunities that characterise the decision-making process young people face when thinking about the transition into higher education or the world of work, particularly at the age of 15–16.

This decision-making process is difficult for these young people and the decisions they make regarding subject choice during the final years of their second level schooling can have a significant bearing on the opportunities available to them at higher education. A contemporary example is the prevalence of biological science as one of the dominant pillars across higher education in the Republic of Ireland. While numerous research studies focus on the science experiences of students in male-dominated disciplines such as computer science, engineering, and physics [15], fewer have explored the imbalance of access pathways through female-dominant disciplines such as biology [16]. Indeed, notably, there is a disproportionate participation rate across gender in upper secondary school science education at a national level, with male students participating at a ratio of approximately 1:2, half the number of their female peers [17]. It appears that many male students fail to recognise that the study of biology is relevant to the lives that they lead or indeed what pathways into the future they may be excluded from as a consequence of opting out. It is argued here that if students, particularly in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, do not take biology as an examinable subject at upper second level, this reduces the likelihood of making a successful transition to higher education. In addition, this also reduces the possibility of developing a scientific–enhanced transversal skill set that will benefit them in life more generally. This presents a challenge when considering that biological science-related careers are not only fundamental to economic growth globally [18] but that they appear to be poorly introduced to students in the secondary school setting [19]. Considering ‘DEIS’ second-level schools in the Republic of Ireland, which have the particular remit of supporting students from marginalised communities, and thus those experiencing educational disadvantage, the same concerns are pertinent. Despite almost all Irish DEIS schools providing the option to study biology at upper second level, there is a significant underrepresentation of male students opting to study this subject. If the trend is continuing, it will most likely impede future developments in the science and technology sectors and hinder competitiveness in a global economy where science and technology predominate [20].

Using baseline data gathered from second level students in the Republic of Ireland, this paper considers the potential psychosocial factors influencing socio-economically disadvantaged male students in Irish DEIS schools regarding their intention to choose to study biology at upper second level. Our findings can inform the design and implementation of pedagogical interventions and teacher-led initiatives in second level schools and promote the uptake of biology amongst male students in these schools, as well as foster an interest in science more generally.

2. Theoretical Framework

There is an increasing interest in investigating the impact of behavioural intention on behaviour [21]. A considerable body of literature in social psychology documents the relationship between behaviour and behavioural intention, which is defined as one’s level of motivation or commitment to conduct the behaviour [22,23]. According to the Theory of Reasoned Action [24], an individual’s behavioural intentions determine their behaviour. In other words, as an individual’s intention to conduct a behaviour increases, so does the likelihood of them actually performing the behaviour. According to the Theory of Reasoned Action, an individual’s attitude towards the behaviour and subjective norms directly predicts their intentions. An attitude is described as a person’s appraisal of a specific behaviour. Someone may have a positive, negative, or neutral attitude towards a particular behaviour. As an individual’s attitude improves, so do their intentions to engage in a behaviour. Subjective norms are an individual’s ideas about the value others place on them executing a specific behaviour. In other words, it is the degree to which an individual believes that others want them to engage in a particular behaviour. As an individual’s subjective norms rise, so will their willingness to engage in a behaviour.

To investigate male students’ behavioural intentions to take biology at upper secondary-level education in socio-economically disadvantaged school settings, the current study sought to employ a well-established theoretical framework, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). TPB extends the Theory of Reasoned Action by including perceived behavioural control. Since its introduction almost four decades ago, Ajzen [25,26] employs psychosocial factors to explain behaviour in specific contexts [26], and an influential model for the prediction of human social behaviour [27] was found to be suitable for the purpose of this study. According to the TPB, three direct factors are required to investigate behaviour and, for the purpose of this study, behavioural intention. Aizen goes on to characterise behavioural intent as representative of a person’s motivation in the sense of their conscious plan or decision to perform a certain behaviour with the suggestion that the stronger the intention, the more likely the behaviour will be performed [25].

The first factor within the TPB is attitude towards the behaviour, which is a personal factor referring to the degree to which a person has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation or appraisal of a particular behaviour. The second factor is subjective norm, which is a social factor that refers to the perceived social pressure to perform, or to not perform, the behaviour. The third factor is the degree of perceived behavioural control, which refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour.

The TPB was adapted as the theoretical model to frame an exploration of students’ behavioural intention (I) to take up biology at upper secondary level (see Figure 1) by unpicking some of its constructs; attitude towards behaviour (AB), which refers to the question ‘What do I think?’, i.e., whether or not male students who attend a school are designated as educationally disadvantaged, and assigns a positive value to their choice to take biology as a subject at upper secondary level; subjective norm (SN), which explores the question ‘What do others think?’, i.e., whether participating male students’ formed opinions on the behaviour to take biology based on their social network, cultural norms, and group beliefs; and finally, perceived behaviour control (PBC), which refers to the question ‘Can I do it?’, whether these male students’ feel that they can successfully engage with biology at the upper secondary level. The figure below (Figure 1) illustrates the multiple effects of each construct (AB, SN, and PBC) on each other and also on the overall behavioural intention (I).

3. Method

A survey research method was employed to ascertain the intention of socio-economically disadvantaged male students from Irish DEIS schools, an under-represented group in Ireland’s higher education system, to select biology as a possible access pathway to higher education and the world of work. The student survey encompassed both closed- and open-ended questions to explore the relevance of science and future career ambitions as well as descriptors including parental occupation. In addition, measurable constructs of science capital [28,29] and the Theory of Planned Behaviour [22,25,26,27] were included. This approach to data collection allowed for anonymity, measurable variables and also provided opportunities for respondents to articulate additional insights and accumulate a rich dataset [30].

The survey instrument, an online questionnaire provided via Microsoft Forms, was administered to obtain participants’ responses to the selection of variables under investigation, including the constructs of the adapted version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (see

Table 1. Questions from the questionnaire on behaviour intention to study biology (adopted from Salleh, 2013) [20].

Construct	Questionnaire Item
AB	I like learning Biology. I feel that learning Biology is important. I feel anxious when I learn Biology. I enjoy learning Biology. I feel comfortable learning Biology. I feel hopeless when I learn Biology.
SN	My parents; My family (siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents); School principal; Teachers; Friends.
PBC	I am certainly able to study Biology if I want to. I am entirely capable of learning Biology successfully. I have the resources, the knowledge, and the skills to learn Biology effectively. Teachers help me to learn biology. I can learn Biology if I have support from friends. I can learn Biology if I have support from my parents. I can learn Biology if I have interesting teaching and learning resources.
I	I will take up Biology for upper second level; I will learn Biology to get a job; I will learn Biology to gain more scientific knowledge; I will learn Biology if I get a good grade in a Biology examination.

), which is the focus of this paper. Variables used were adopted and modified from previously published studies to align with the colloquial language of the participant group, but without changing the essence of any questions. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and findings are presented as counts of responses (bar charts) for each question posed. The table below illustrates the questions that align with each of the constructs (AB, SN, PBC, and I), adapted from Salleh’s (2013) [20] validated survey, which set out to investigate the factor’s influencing the students’ intentions to study science in upper secondary school. These closed questions used the Likert Scale with the following values for each construct: AB (1–6), SN (1–5), PBC (1–7), and I (1–4).

To test the validity and reliability of the scales after the adaption of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha was computed (see

Table 2. Reliability statistics (Cronbach’s alpha) on adapted version of Salleh’s (2023) [20] validated survey.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach’s Alpha	Cronbach’s Alpha Based on Standardized Items	No of items
0.858	0.825	4

).

Cronbach’s alpha was 0.858, which indicates a high level of internal consistency for the adapted scales with this specific study sample.

Participants

A purposive sampling strategy [30] that focused solely on all Irish DEIS second level schools that offer a transition year (TY) programme in the Republic of Ireland was adopted. DEIS schools were selected as these schools have a particular remit regarding the support of students from marginalised communities and thus those experiencing educational disadvantages. In addition, the target schools needed to have a transition year (TY) programme (an optional year of study and personal development between upper- and lower-level secondary school in Ireland), during which students, typically aged 15–16 years, decide upon which subjects they will study at upper secondary level for the following two years and for matriculation to higher education. Formal sanctions for this study were sought and granted by the University Ethics Board before the research team made contact with school principals and TY coordinators to aid in the recruitment of student participants. Prior to engagement, both students and their parents received information sheets detailing the study and ethical considerations (e.g., consent, anonymity, confidentiality, etc.) before informed consent was sought. Participation was voluntary and students were informed that they could opt out up to the point at which they submitted their online responses.

A total of 20 schools across nine counties (over one-third of counties nationally, including counties with the three major cities in Ireland) volunteered to take part in the online survey with the number of student responses totalling 344 (aged between 14–16 years old and participating in TY programmes in their schools).

Table 3. Gender of student respondents (N = 344).

Gender	n	%
Female	164	47.7
Male	159	46.2
Rather not say	21	6.1
Total	344	100

shows the participants’ gender breakdown, while

Table 4. Student respondents by gender and county across Ireland.

County	Gender			Total No. in %
	M	F	Rather Not Say
Donegal	65	51	2	34.3
Galway	13	34	1	14
Mayo	20	5	3	8.1
Sligo	5	12	-	4.9
Cork	17	21	5	12.5
Wexford	8	13	4	7.3
Dublin	21	7	1	8.4
Waterford	-	2	-	0.6
Kildare	10	19	5	9.9
Total	159	164	21	344/100

illustrates participant responses by county. Although this paper focuses on male intention, we include responses from all participating genders where relevant in order to highlight disparities in responses.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Attitude towards Behaviour

Attitude towards behaviour (AB) refers to the degree to which a student has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation of studying biology, with study participants aged 15–16 years. Overall, there was a pronounced disparity between male and female students regarding positive responses when asked the question ‘How do you feel about learning biology?’. For example, when responding to ‘I like learning biology’, 17% of male respondents and 34% of female respondents presented a tendency towards positivity, whereas a tendency towards negative responses was evident in response to ‘I feel hopeless when I learn biology’ (male 23%; female: 7%) (see Figure 2). The results also indicated that only 27% of male students ‘feel comfortable learning Biology’; 17% and 13% of male students ‘like’ and ‘enjoy’ learning biology, respectively; and 16% feel that ‘Biology is important’. Therefore, on average, 18% of male students have a positive attitude towards the study of biology. However, some male students were also found to have a negative attitude, which cannot be ignored. It was found that 4% feel anxious and 23% reported feeling ‘hopeless’ when they learn biology. Considering this against an extant underrepresentation of male students studying the subject at upper secondary school and consequently not opting for biological science careers or related industries, this raises a concern as these anxious experiences and uncertainties can impair decision making [8] and potentially limit career and life opportunities. These findings underscore the need to better understand the attitudes of male students towards studying biology, identifying both positive and negative tendencies, and to advocate for the development of targeted pedagogical interventions that can address challenges and concerns that impact male students’ decisions and potential future career pathways.

4.2. Subjective Norms

Subjective norms (SNs) explore the perceived social pressure on students to study or not to study biology at the upper secondary level: ‘Both educational and career aspirations can be shaped by how students think they will fit in with others and from the educational and employment expectations of significant others, including parents, teachers and peers’ [19] (p. 156). At this point in a student’s education, subject decisions are made which can seriously impact their career pathways. Students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds often lack the necessary support networks to make these decisions [23]. Results indicate that when students were asked ‘Who influences you to learn Biology?’, teachers are the most significant influencers on students’ intentions to study biology, with an influence rating of 74% on male students (see Figure 3). Other possible influences were significantly lower, with family and parents as more pronounced influences on female students (at 16% and 14%, respectively). For male students, less than 10% in all instances indicated that a pedagogically designed, teacher-led intervention may have the highest capacity in influencing change. However, given that female students’ level of behavioural intention is higher the influence of the wider familial environment may be more important than previously anticipated. Targeted messaging to parents and the wider family beyond the educational setting in concert with a pedagogical intervention may be necessary. Evidence indicates that the familial setting, and actors within, plays an important role in helping to shape students’ engagement, aspirations, and achievement/attainment in science [31] and thus are worthy of further consideration with respect to male students’ choice to study biology in upper secondary-level education.

4.3. Perceived Behavioural Control

Perceived behaviour control (PBC) refers to the perceived ease or difficulty for these DEIS male students to study biology at upper secondary level in Irish schools. Adolescence represents a pivotal phase in the shaping of career choices and determining pathways to higher education. The capacity to aspire to study at this level is unevenly distributed between students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those considered advantaged students [32]. The top-ranking factor influencing student self-belief to study biology is their teachers’ capacity to support their learning (38% of male participants), followed by male students acknowledging that they ‘can study biology if they want to’ (25%) and 19% of male students reporting that they could learn biology if they were given interesting teaching and learning resources (see Figure 4). These results indicate that male students see a pathway to biology, if supported by teachers, quality teaching and resources, and opportunities to participate in experiences that build in self-confidence.

Bandura’s [33,34,35,36] sources of self-efficacy are evident here, in terms of teachers as influential role models (vicarious experiences) and teachers’ positive appraisal of students’ work (verbal persuasion). It follows, therefore, that continuous professional development (CPD) could enhance teachers’ skills in this area. For example, focusing on mastery experience, which refers to an individual experiencing success following their performance in a previously challenging task [34], has the potential to affect change in this area. In this sense, personal accomplishments and achievements can contribute significantly to an individual’s beliefs about their capabilities and effectiveness in a specific domain. They provide individuals with the tangible evidence of their abilities, thus illustrating what they can achieve and influencing future behaviours and motivations. In terms of mastery experiences, almost one-quarter of male students reported a positive ability to study biology, which may have arisen from successes and positive assessments along the way Verbal persuasion experiences by ‘significant others’ [35] (p. 101) are notable in instilling confidence in individuals, particularly when the source is deemed credible [36]. As indicated in Figure 5 below, support from parents and friends is a factor, but teachers are especially a credible source of support in assisting male students to learn biology and think more positively about its relevance in their everyday lives.

4.4. Behavioural Intent

The returned data (see Figure 5) suggest that there is a significant gender disparity regarding the intention to take biology, which aligns with the national gender uptake of biology that was previously outlined. When DEIS students were asked if they intended to take biology at upper secondary-level education, 21% of male students and 57% of female students responded positively, resulting in a ratio closer to 1:3, which is higher than the uptake in secondary schools nationally [17].

In terms of ranking factors relating to student intent to study biology in DEIS schools (see Figure 5), male students emphasised success in biology assessments (36%) followed by greater gains in scientific knowledge (29%), as persuasive factors in their intent to study biology. Only 13% of male students considered career options in biology as their rationale for studying it, which was on par with their female student peers and may warrant further investigation in terms of their awareness of the varied career options in that sector. Results indicate that the inclusion of opportunities for assessment success, the prominent positioning of scientific literacy, and guidance on course and career pathways should be integral to any interventions addressing this imbalance.

5. Conclusions

This paper offers insight into TPB as a theoretical framework to investigate students’ behaviour intention regarding the uptake of biology at the upper secondary level. When we consider behaviour intent (I), findings related to attitude towards behaviour (AB), i.e., students’ personal evaluation of the subject and whether they see it as valuable or beneficial, the outcomes suggest that both a radical and targeted intervention programme for male students is necessary to enhance their recognition of biology as a viable educational pathway and a subject more closely aligned with their daily experiences. Although 18% of male students have a positive attitude towards biology within the participating DEIS schools, many report negative influences on their decision making (experiences of anxiousness and hopelessness) at a critical juncture in their lifelong learning experience. Employing teaching methods that indirectly foster both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation among students towards science could potentially positively influence their decisionn making [37].

Regarding subjective norms (SNs), which explore the impact of social factors, cultural norms, and group beliefs on the decision to pursue biology, teachers emerge as the primary influencers. Therefore, supporting teachers through continuous professional development is crucial to enable them to guide male students effectively in making informed choices about studying biology [31]. Additionally, the involvement of families and parents deserves attention, especially since female students, who show a higher inclination to study biology, also rely on these influencers in their decision making. Emphasising the importance and practicality of science to both students and parents has been associated with heightened interest and achievement in science among students, as well as a greater likelihood of them selecting science-related courses [37]

In relation to perceived behavioural control (PBC), which encompasses students’ own perceptions of their confidence to successfully engage with the subject of biology at upper secondary level, students perceive a pathway to biology when their self-efficacy is positively influenced [33,34,35,36]. Teachers play a crucial role in influencing male students’ choice to study biology by providing vicarious experiences and verbal persuasion, both of which serve as predictors of self-efficacy and outcome expectations [38]. This influence is particularly noteworthy considering that the data indicate teachers to be the dominant influence on male students’ decision to study biology in upper secondary school.

Finally, when we interrogate the data on intention to learn biology, to address the lower numbers of male students intending to study biology, interventions should focus on providing male students with mastery experiences through assessment, emphasising scientific knowledge, and raising awareness of the various career pathways associated with studying biology. The objective is to create an opportunity to halt a worrying trend of male non-participation in the upper secondary school curricular subject of biology.

6. Implications and Recommendations

With Ireland’s ambition to enhance inclusive educational provision and thus to achieve a dramatic increase in the transition rate of socio-economically disadvantaged students into higher education within the decade, this study on student intention around the selection of subjects for study at upper secondary school level is important to consider for both policy and practice purposes. Ajzen’s [25,26,27] well-established theoretical framework is a useful instrument to initiate the investigation, but the additional application of science capital constructs [21], inclusive of family and wider community contexts, provides enhanced insights and should thus inform any response to the challenges of promoting biology uptake for socio-economically disadvantaged male students at upper secondary school level.

So far, findings reveal that in terms of student intention to take biology at upper secondary school level and to take advantage of the vast array of opportunities in higher education and beyond in the world of work, 21% of male students and 57% of female students from Irish DEIS schools responded positively, a ratio close to 1:3, which is less favourable than the national gender uptake in this subject. Given the major influence of teachers on male students’ study of biology, any action taken to ameliorate this trend should employ teaching strategies/pedagogical interventions that stimulate and promote students’ enjoyment and self-efficacy. Teaching approaches and classroom experiences in secondary school have repeatably been found to influence students’ interest in science [37]. To this end, it is essential that teachers are supported in this endeavour through a targeted programme of continuous professional development.

Finally, developing positive familial dispositions towards biology and science more generally science should be concomitant with efforts within the formal education system that aim to motivate and encourage students to study biology. Scholars have consistently highlighted the importance of enhancing favourable attitudes toward science, which is often described as unrelated, difficult, and boring to learn in comparison with other topics [39]. In addition, besides disseminating assessment reports, parents and the wider family should be included in career and guidance counselling activities, so that both students and families are made aware of the vast number of course and career opportunities available when opting for biology at upper secondary school level and, as a consequence, enhanced decision-making processes can ensue.