This review examines how natural history museums (NHMs) can enhance learning and engagement in science, particularly for school-age students. First, we describe the learning potential of informal science learning institutions in general, then we focus on NHMs. We review the possible benefits of interactions between schools and NHMs, and the potential for NHMs to teach about challenging issues such as evolution and climate change and to use digital technologies to augment more traditional artefacts. We conclude that NHMs can provide students with new knowledge and perspectives, with impacts that can last for years. Through visits and their on-line presence, NHMs can help students see science in ways that the school classroom rarely can, with opportunities to meet scientists, explore whole topic exhibitions, engage with interactive displays and employ digital technologies both in situ and to support learning in the school science classroom. Although these interactions have the potential to foster positive cognitive, affective and social outcomes for students, there is a lack of reliable measures of the impact of NHM experiences for students. Opportunities to foster relationships between NHM staff and teachers through professional development can help articulate shared goals to support students’ learning and engagement.

There is a widespread concern that relatively few students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, continue to study chemistry and other science subjects after compulsory education. Yet it remains unclear how different aspects of students’ background and home context, their own attitudes and beliefs, and their experiences of particular teaching approaches in school might limit or facilitate their studying aspirations; concurrently, less research has specifically focused on and surveyed disadvantaged students. In order to gain more insight, 4780 students were surveyed, covering those in Year 7 (age 11–12 years) and in Year 8 (age 12–13) from schools in England with high proportions of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Predictive modelling highlighted that the students’ aspirations to study non-compulsory science in the future, and to study the particular subject of chemistry, were strongly associated with their extrinsic motivation towards science (their perceived utility of science, considered as a means to gain particular careers or skills), their intrinsic interest in science, and their engagement in extra-curricular activities. Additionally, their self-concept beliefs (their confidence in their own abilities in science), some teaching approaches, and encouragement from teachers and family alongside family science capital had smaller but still relevant associations.

There already exists a large knowledge base about teaching and learning related to the origins, diversity and history of life on Earth. We know less about teaching and learning related to wider issues pertinent to both religion and science. In our research with 40 students in six secondary schools in England, we looked at wider issues of student perceptions of religion and science. Our study involved an intervention of six lessons in Science and six in Religious Education (RE). Issues of philosophy, including ethics, were raised in Science lessons. The RE lessons dealt with a variety of contexts that highlighted the question of the relationship(s) between religion and science. In both pre- and post-intervention interviews, we found many instances where students used language that conveyed a misconception of the epistemic distinctions between religion and science. Students referred to ‘truth’, ‘theory’ and ‘facts’ interchangeably when discussing religious and scientific knowledge. We argue that RE needs to attend to epistemic literacy if we are to both avoid epistemological misconceptions and enable students to develop insights into the specific knowledge forms manifested in religion(s).

This article explores how students' aspirations to study mathematics or physics in post-16 education are associated with their perceptions of their education, their motivations, and the support they feel they received. The analysis is based on the responses of around 10,000 students in England in Year 8 (age 12–13) and then in Year 10 (age 14–15). The students were first surveyed during 2008–2009 and then followed up in 2010–2011. t-tests revealed a decline in their perceptions of their mathematics and physics education. Factor analyses indicated subject-specific constructs that were associated with gender aspiration groups (i.e., high-aspiring girls, high-aspiring boys, low-aspiring girls, low-aspiring boys). High-aspiring girls were more likely than low-aspiring boys to be positive about mathematics/physics education, motivation in these subjects, and support received. However, high-aspiring girls were less likely than high-aspiring boys to be encouraged by their teachers and families to continue with these subjects post-16 and had lower self-concepts, intrinsic valuations, and perceptions of lessons. Low-aspiring girls reported the least favorable views of their mathematics/physics education of all four gender aspiration groups. Findings were generally similar for mathematics and physics, although students overall responded more favorably to mathematics than to physics. The quantitative findings are illustrated with extracts from longitudinal interviews (ages 15, 16, and 17) of two high-aspiring girls.

In England, both Religious Education (RE) and science are mandatory parts of the school curriculum throughout the 5-16 age range. Nevertheless, there remain concerns that, as in many countries, students do not have a good understanding about the scope of each subject nor about how the two subjects relate. This article reports on a study that involved an intervention of six lessons in RE and six in science that were intended to help 13-15 year-old students develop a better appreciation for the relationship(s) between science and religion and a less reductionist understanding of biology. Our focus here is on the understandings that students have about the relationship between science and religion. The intervention was successful in improving the understandings of almost half of the students interviewed, but in these interviews we still found many instances where students showed misunderstandings of the nature of both religious and scientific knowledge. We argue that RE needs to attend to questions regarding the nature of knowledge if students are to develop better understandings of the scope of religions and how they arrive at their knowledge claims.

This article uses data from students in England to pilot and validate an ‘Attitudes to Science and Religion’ instrument which explores secondary school students’ perceptions of the relationship between science and religion, as well as their attitudes towards science and towards religion. This instrument was developed in part from previous studies and is intended for educators and researchers for both pedagogical and research purposes. The post-pilot questionnaire was then used with 1102 Year 9/10 students from 18 schools in England to answer two research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between students’ attitudes towards science and their perceptions as to whether science and religion are compatible? (2) What are the characteristics of students who report that science and religion are compatible? Students who reported that science and religion were compatible had more positive perceptions of science and of their ability in science, were more likely to have future aspirations in science and showed more positive attitudes towards science education. There was no statistically significant difference between Christian and Muslim students in their responses about the compatibility of science and religion, nor about whether evolution and creationism should be taught in the science classroom. Muslim students were as positive as were Christian students about their science education and the benefits of science; however, they were less positive about the role of science in explaining the world. Students who reported science and religion as being compatible were more likely to hold religious beliefs than a belief in scientism. Implications of this research are that there ought to be a place for discussion about the relationship between science and religion within school lessons and that high quality discussion is likely to be fostered by developing students’ critical thinking skills.