Demographic sources as a local wisdom: Potency of Indonesian physics education researchers in conducting survey research

Abstract

The trends of population and the dependency ratio from 2020 to 2030 (young and elderly to working age) give a benefit to Indonesia. These demographic sources are one of the local wisdom as well as culture, diversity, ethnicity, and natural resources. In this paper, therefore, survey research, especially in physics education was proposed in responding the potency of demographic factors. Generally, survey design is used to describe trends, to determine individual opinions about special topics or policy issues, and to provide useful information to evaluate programs in schools. The research method addressed the explanatory process of cross-sectional survey designs and longitudinal survey designs, which were conducted by the author previously. The discussion was started from the simple process of survey study and followed by some examples of survey research designs. For the cross-sectional survey, the AT-STEM (Attitudes towards STEM), Conception of Learning Physics (CLP), and Physics Learning Self-Efficacy (PLSE) were discussed. Meanwhile, for longitudinal survey designs, the Attitudes towards (Teaching) Science (ATS) were exemplified. Moreover, the research about Attitudes towards a New Physics Curriculum (ATNPC) was also demonstrated. Finally, some recommendations of physics education research were also proposed.