Which elementary school subjects are the most likeable, most important, and the easiest? Why?: A study of science and technology, mathematics, social studies, and Turkish

Abstract

The present study was conducted first to identify which school subjects were most liked, most important, and most difficult, as well as least liked, least important and easiest as perceived by elementary school students and second to explore the reasons why students most/least liked, considered as most/least important, and considered as most difficult/easiest the school subjects identified. The data were collected from 789 fourth through seventh grade students from eight public elementary schools in Edirne, Turkey using three rank-order and six open-ended questions. The study showed that the most-liked subject was science and technology, the most important and also difficult subject was mathematics. Whether classes were amusing, boring and/or linked to daily life experiences was found to be among the most frequently mentioned reasons. Key words: Attitudes towards school subjects, comparison among school subjects, elementary education, scaling.