Exploration of Relationships between Students’ Science Identities and Achievement Emotions in Physics

Abstract

Many studies have found relationships between students’ achievement emotions and their performance as well as between students’ science identities and their performance. However, little is known about how students’ achievement emotions are related to their science identities. This study explored the relationship between achievement emotions and science identities in an inquiry-based physics class. In order to do so, we adapted the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Mathematics by replacing all references to mathematics with physics and selected items from the Persistence Research in Science and Engineering (PRiSE) survey. The adapted instruments were implemented with students in an inquiry-based physics class. The results showed that, overall, students’ self-perceptions as science persons were low, especially as chemistry or physics persons. Students also had negative emotions overall about physics. The results showed that students’ anxiety levels were significantly increased in a test-related situation compared to class-related and learning-related situations. In terms of the relationships between their science identity and their achievement emotions, students’ self-identification and their perceptions about their parents/relatives/friends’ views about them as physics persons were significantly related to their achievement emotions in physics. We also found that tests triggered great anxiety for students regardless of their pride in and enjoyment of physics.