The investigation presented in Giuseppe Pellegrini‘s article is part of the international Roses project started in 2000 by the University of Oslo (Schreiner and Sjøberg 2019) and coordinated by A. Jidesjö, M. Oskarsson and A.K. Westman.
The “Youth, Science and Technology” survey promoted and carried out by Observa – Pristem Bocconi has reached its second edition and in 2023 involved over 4700 second year secondary school students (14-16 years old) from 100 Italian schools.
The survey aims to understand the attitudes, values, interests and expectations of young people in a period of transition and change which will significantly influence their future choices.
The latest survey shows an interest in science with some gender differences: male students prefer technology, space and some environmental aspects, while female students focus more on sexuality and human life. In general, students from theoretical oriented high schools prefer greater scientific commitment in class. It is interesting to note that the results show how adolescents who are more interested in scientific disciplines live with graduate parents, while those who prefer technical training and professional have non-graduate parents. Furthermore, the cultural level of parents strongly influences the disciplinary choices of male and female students. Lots of data highlight the interest of young Italian students in science and technology but one in particular appears of great interest: the intention to embrace a scientific career concerns one young person in three. From 2017 to today, the number of students intending to pursue a career as scientists has tripled.
Read the full article by G. Pellegrini
Here you can also read Vincenzo Mulè’s interview with G. Pellegrini
