Which Subjects Do Students Prefer?

If you ask most students what their favorite subject in school is, you will likely get a variety of answers, depending on the age of the students and their interests. Answers may range from a dislike for academic subjects in general to a preference for those subjects that they excel in, or those that require the least amount of work.  

Similar research has been done on a broader scale, with some studies (Chapin, 2006; Dundar and Rapoport, 2012; Goodlad, 1984; Greenblatt, 1962; Haladyna and Thomas, 1979; Herman, 1963; Inskeep and Rowland, 1965; Kılıç Çakmak et al., 2008; McGowan, 1983; Wolters and Pintrich, 1998; Yılmaz and Şeker, 2011) which have compared the subjects in terms of attitudes that students maintain regarding learning. To sum up briefly, when social studies, science, mathematics, and humanities (example English, Spanish, reading, etc.), were polled, with the exception of Yılmaz and Şeker (2011)’s study, math or science were found to be among the most liked, preferred, important, valued and easiest subjects, while social studies was found to be the least popular, the least necessary, the least valued, and the hardest subject by students compared to other core subjects. 

I find this to be especially interesting, as typically math and science are more challenging subjects for many of the students I have tutored over the years, as well as one of the most requested topics for tutoring. In fact, a quick review from our tutoring session logs reveals that more than 70% of the students that I have seen have come for tutoring in subjects such as math, chemistry, biology. Of course, needing tutoring in a subject does not imply a dislike for that subject. But attitudes toward learning are definitely important when evaluating a student’s preference for an academic subject, as people often have a tendency to enjoy learning and receiving tutoring in a subject which is easier rather than one which is more challenging, even though the opposite is often necessary. 

Some past studies were done to understand the reasons lying behind students’ attitudes. Schug et al. (1982) interviewed 46 students from 6 and 12 grades, and found English to be the most important subject, followed by mathematics, reading, social studies and science, respectively. As for the source of their favorite, least favorite, and important subject perceptions, students cited that social studies were less important because of career concerns; to them, English, mathematics, and reading offered more practical skills for future careers. Students also commented that social studies were not very exciting because of teaching methods and content repetition, while mathematics was rated to be more important because it effectively develops “life skills”. 

When discussing the difficulty of classes with regard to their level of enjoyment, Scott Ketter, an I.T. graduate and commenter on Quora explained,” The classes that will be the most difficult are the ones that are more alien to your way of thinking. However, this is not to say that they are less rewarding than the classes that you find easy. If anything,they will prove to be more rewarding if you really put in the effort. There is no intellectual growth without challenge and expanding your circle of knowledge will ultimately make you better at what you really love to do. For example, there was an ethics class that impacted me the most in college. It was almost enough to make me change my area of interest to maintaining the “intellectual commons” in regards to software. At the end of the day, the ethics class gave me valuable direction toward how I should code. The business class made me value my work in a way that could financially benefit me and others. All of the classes made me a better software developer and more well-rounded in the I.T. community.” 

We thought it would be interesting to delve deeper and conduct a small study of our own to determine which classes and subjects our tutoring students actually preferred at both the elementary and high school levels. 

What we found was revealing. Students often prefer math at the lower levels, prior to junior high, which makes sense perhaps because it is easier to excel at that age and there is more guidance from the teacher. Reading is also ranked higher in younger students. As students enter high school, surprisingly there is a greater preference for math as well, and students shunned classes like English and History, which involved a significant amount of reading and writing, and generally just demanded too much time given their often busy schedules. 

This aligns well with results of a 2003 Gallup Youth Survey, which showed that math (23%) and science (14%) are mentioned most often as American teens' (aged 13 to 17) favorite course in school. 

So, a question arises then: if math and science are some of the most highly rated academic subjects by teens, why aren't more high schoolers proficient in these areas? 

At the math summit, Institute of Educational Sciences Director Grover J. Whitehurst presented data from 37 countries participating in the 1995 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The results interestingly revealed an inverse relationship between math scores and how much kids like math, he said. 

"Children in countries that were at the top on math achievement, such as Japan, don't like math," Whitehurst said. "Children in countries at the bottom of international achievement, such as South Africa, like math more than children from any other country in the world." 

In my own experience, I notice that sometimes students become bored with subjects in which they are already proficient, and despite expressing the desire for easy classes and grades, the reward from mastering a subject boosts confidence and self-esteem. This is why high-quality tutoring is so important—it provides students a chance to not only master a subject, but to gain confidence, and promote the desire to conquer new challenges. I hope you have enjoyed this article and if you have further questions please contact us!