Research on the outcomes of physics education at the end of upper-secondary school

Research team: Petra Pschotnerová, Dana Mandíková, Martin Chvál

About the research

Initially, the research mapped the situation of physics teaching in various types of high schools and its time allocation. Furthermore, an extensive questionnaire survey was conducted at grammar schools and technical secondary schools focusing on the form of the physics graduation exam, the proportions of students choosing physics for graduation, as well as why students choose physics as one of their graduation subjects and how they prepare for the physics graduation exam. The pivotal part of the research then involved re-administering the specialized physics test TIMSS Advanced 1995 to Czech high school students in 2023.

Research instrument

Original test booklets containing the specialized physics test from 1995 administered in paper form.

Research sample

Together 1,804 final-year students from 82 grammar schools; 72 schools were the same as those involved in the research in 1995.

Publications related to the research:

Pschotnerová, P., & Mandíková, D. (2024). School-leaving examination in physics at the end of upper secondary school in the Czech Republic – Current state. To be published.

Mandíková, D. & Pschotnerová, P. (2024). Research on the results of secondary school physics education of Generation Z in the Czech Republic. To be published.

Pschotnerová, P. (2021). Physics Education in Upper Secondary Schools. In J. Pavlů & J. Šafránková (Eds.), WDS'21 Proceedings of Contributed Papers — Physics (pp. 134–139). Matfyzpress. [Online].