Science Subject Choices among Secondary School Students in Ilala-Dar es salaam: The Influence of School-Based Social and Personal Guidance

Abstract

This study examined the influence of School-based Social and Personal Guidance (SBSPG) provided in schools on science subjects’ choices among students. Three categories of respondents were involved, including 389 secondary school students, 82 science teachers, and 10 teacher counsellors who were subjected to a Self-Report Questionnaire (SQR), a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and a Semi-Structured interview. A Binary Logistic Regression Model was employed to analyse quantitative data collected through SRQ, while thematic analysis was applied for FGD and interview data. The findings indicated that SBSPG was found to have significant positive influence on students’ science subjects’ choices for both male and females with odds ratio (OR) 2.04 (p=0.004) for males and 1.70 (p=0.005) for females. Therefore, the study recommends that the Ministry of Education Science and Technology to strengthen the efforts to ensure that comprehensive SBSPG fully provided in secondary schools. This could add up the ongoing efforts to bridge the existing gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in Tanzania for sustainable development.